Who To Pardon?

Recently President Trump ‘reached’ out to players of the NFL asking them to submit a list of people for potential presidential pardons. The players responded with a thoughtful suggestion aimed at addressing the incarceration of drug offenders and the elderly. They also reaffirmed their rights as citizens of the United States to voice their concerns and praise for the America we all live in.

That response, published in the New York Times, has garnered no public response from either the President or the White House. Instead, the President continues to vilify players who speak their conscious and suggest that some how everyone might be better served if they left this country. His base seems to embrace this view.

All of this is playing out in the context of a larger discussion about civility, public protest, and the dividing line between public official and private citizen. What is clear to me is that the tactics that the Trump administration has used intimidate and attempt to silence voices of dissent are now being used on the same officials who have crafted and condoned the approach- you reap what you sow.