The attorney general is our nation’s top law enforcement position. The person in that role leads the Department of Justice, including the FBI, and is supposed to be an “independent” force for upholding the rule of law. Donald Trump clearly thinks otherwise, and once again, is attempting to place a non-credentialed person in a role critical to protecting what many now consider to be our crumbling democracy.

The president’s attempt to place Todd Blanche in that role is obviously one more effort on his part to serve and protect his interests, not the interests of our nation. Any vote to confirm Trump’s personal defense attorney as our attorney general is a clear vote for the totalitarian state this administration is attempting to construct.

History is unforgiving, and our collective legacy will be determined solely by our actions. How do we hope to be remembered 100 years from now? As allies of freedom and justice, or as fearful isolationists who apathetically accepted corruption and immorality? Will future generations proudly cite that their ancestors were independent thinkers, or followers of a regime that weaponized political affiliation and skin color as litmus tests to determine who was a “real American”?

Our votes this November will provide the context, but our collective legacy will be written by our heirs, who must live in the world we leave behind. May we make them proud.

Christine Cellucci
Scarborough