The Fear Is the Point

New York Times

a day ago

Like the fog in Carl Sandburg's poem, fear has come on little cat feet, seeping silently into various parts of American society. It sits, looking over not just harbor and city, but all of America. I have seen and been affected by this fear over the past several months. It has seeped into our military, our civil service, universities, law firms, C-suites and the leadership of nonprofit organizations.
It wasn't always this way. During George W. Bush's presidency, I worked with a number of organizations that opposed his administration's torture program — euphemistically called 'enhanced interrogation' — that was employed by the C.I.A. against suspected terrorists after 9/11. After President Barack Obama signed an executive order ending the program, my colleagues and I held a small party to celebrate. At that party, I remarked that we should be grateful for the fact that we lived in a nation where we could publicly oppose the policies of our government without fear of what that government might do to us. We didn't worry about being arbitrarily arrested or investigated, having any government funding for our organizations cut off, or being personally and viciously attacked on social media and in the press.
I cannot make that statement today. President Trump does not accept dissent and is using fear to try to suppress it.
Let's start with our military and civil service, communities with which I have had a lifetime of experience and maintain close contact. The fear in the Pentagon today is palpable. The firings of general officers without cause have sent a chilling message to everyone in uniform. I served through several changes in political leadership as an Army officer and later as a Defense Department civilian. Both the targeted removals of senior military leaders and the mass firings of members of our federal civil service that are taking place are unprecedented and clearly designed to eliminate dissent, replace professionals with political loyalists and create a climate of fear.
Next, the lawyers, another community that I am part of. The Trump administration is attempting to coerce major law firms into refusing to represent clients whom it disfavors and to represent clients it favors. Among the many lawyers I know, this is widely seen as a direct assault on the foundation of our legal system. But for many of those lawyers, fear of losing work that requires access to government buildings, including courts, is a strong motivator. A few law firms have fought back, but some have been anxious enough about the threatened loss of business or access that they have cut 'deals' with the administration.
Recently, I spoke to a group of graduate students and professors at Harvard. All were concerned about the effect of the administration's unmistakable attacks on academic freedom and freedom of speech on campus. While Harvard as an institution has the resources and will to fight back, the loss of funding for research and the fear of interrupted studies are very real for the faculty and students there and elsewhere.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.