A Venerable Viewpoint

The Republic – “Beyond the Pale”

Someday, someone in your family will tell a story about who you were when democracy got loud, chaotic, and dangerous. This post is about writing that story on purpose—by choosing your values now and living them when it costs you something. It’s about deciding what you stand for, and what your legacy will be when you’re gone. It’s about the kind of country you want your family to live in—one you can be proud of.

Earlier this month in Minneapolis, Renée Good was killed during an encounter involving federal immigration enforcement. On January 24, 2026, another protester, Alex Pretti, was shot and killed during an anti-ICE demonstration. Video clips circulating online, witness accounts, and official statements are now in open conflict—precisely the kind of moment when a democracy either insists on transparency and accountability or learns to look away.

I watched the available footage first with no sound so that no commentary could steer my reaction. What I saw appeared to show heavily armed federal officers using extreme force against people who were not posing an immediate threat at the moment force was applied. Reports also allege delays in medical assistance. Whether every detail stands up as investigations proceed, the moral and civic question is already here: what do we normalize when lethal force is plausibly visible and leaders demand we deny what we can see with our own eyes?

What I’m relying on: publicly available video, contemporaneous reporting, and official statements. Some details—sequence, commands given, and medical timelines—may be disputed or still under investigation. My argument does not require certainty about every detail; it turns on what citizenship requires when power resists scrutiny.

For me, this is the line in the sand. My civic loyalties are to:

1.      Truth over narrative—especially when power insists you deny what you can see.

2.      Human dignity—no person becomes disposable because they are inconvenient.

3.      Rule of law and due process—force must be accountable, bounded, and reviewable.

4.      Nonviolence in political life—the state’s monopoly on force is not a license for cruelty.

5.      Equal protection—rights are not reserved for “our side.”

Make no mistake: we are in a civic emergency—a struggle over whether America remains a constitutional democracy in practice, not just in memory. The front lines may be in Minneapolis today, but the battlefield is national: institutions, courts, media, churches, workplaces, and dinner tables. Some of us still revere the constitutional system established in the late 18th century and refined through hard-earned amendments and civic norms. Others are backing—actively or through complacency—a system that is authoritarian in nature and monarchical in practice.

The ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence—that all are created equal—were revolutionary for their time. Born during the Enlightenment, a system grounded in the rule of law and supported by constitutional guardrails became a model for democracies around the world. As we approach America’s 250th birthday, it is sobering to admit we may be in the greatest state of distress since the Civil War. Let us hope we survive the upheaval and emerge with a clearer sense of who we are as a society, what we will not excuse, and what we need to do as a democracy to once again show ourselves and the world that we remain the “Land of the Free”.

So here is my commitment. I will not avert my eyes, and I will not excuse what I would condemn if it happened elsewhere. I will write plainly, cite what I can, correct what I get wrong, and press—peacefully and persistently—for transparency and accountability. If you’re reading this, I’m not asking you to adopt my politics. I’m asking you to decide what you will not normalize, what you will defend even when it costs you social comfort, and what story you want your family to tell about you when your time comes.

How this blog works:

There are 3 different "columns" that make up the whole of "A Venerable Viewpoint".

Minneapolis protests - Reuters

"The Republic" looks at institutions and democratic guardrails. "The Lie" dissects propaganda and gaslighting—claim versus record—and offers a verification protocol. "The Neighbor" applies the Beatitudes to public life. Every post ends with a practical question: what does citizenship require of us now?