October 27th, 2017
My Dear America:
It was still a rather warm but windy October night this past Tuesday when I raced to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to hear Carl Bernstein speak. I called right away when I found out about the "Lecture" from my wife who read about it in the Allentown Morning Call Newspaper. Tickets were free but you had to order them in advance, so I did. The talk was scheduled for 7:00 PM and I didn't arrive until 7:20, thinking I was late. As luck would have it I wasn't late. As I walked in the door of Johnson Hall on the Moravian College Campus Carl Bernstein was just being introduced.
I felt bad that my wife did not feel well enough to go with me but She encouraged me to go alone. When I got home from Mr. Bernstein's talk my wife asked me if I learned anything new. I told her that I didn't learn much that was new but that Mr. Bernstein had talked very seriously about the fact that nearly every Republican Lawmaker he had talked with recently had expressed grave doubts and concerns about the behavior and fitness for office of President Donald Trump.
I have, of course, lived through the Watergate Era and at the end of the lecture Carl Bernstein was kind enough to take a copy of my book about Watergate with him. (My book, by the way is "Letters to A Lost Nation: A Watergate Chronicle" and is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions and on Smashwords.com in other digital E Book Formats)
Having lived through Watergate and followed the Senate Watergate Hearings closely I was well aware on Tuesday night as I watched Carl Bernstein on the Johnson Hall stage that I was in close proximity to a Truly Historical Figure. In my opinion Carl Bernstein was and remains one of the true Heroes of Journalism in the 20th Century. When I talked with Mr. Bernstein after the lecture I asked him whether or not he still stays in touch with his Co Hero of "All The Presidents Men," Bob Woodward. His answer was rather surprising to me. He said he sees Woodward every week and they sometimes travel on lecture tours together.
In watching the news this past week Carl Bernstein's words about Republican panic in the halls of Congress about Donald Trump are still in my head. I have begun to notice that although, for the most part, Republicans seem to remain united in public appearing to support Trump, the Dam is beginning to crack. Unfortunately mostly those Republicans who have already chosen to leave the battlefield are those who are speaking up about their true feelings about life in President Trump's America.
Carl Bernstein has seen the Dam crack before when Republicans finally had enough of Richard Nixon and were instrumental in driving him from the White House. Clearly Senators Bob Corker and Jeff Flake have had enough, and along with John McCain, they are encouraging their fellow Republican Lawmakers to speak up also. The Truth is that any Lawmaker, whether or not they are Republican or Democrat, will certainly feel the Twitter Wrath of President Trump if they speak out against him.
It wasn't that long ago that Donald Trump asked the question "Are We Living in Nazi Germany."
That is a question that Lawmakers as well as other American Citizens are beginning to ask themselves more often each and every day.
In the meantime I give thanks for Carl Bernstein, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Los Angeles Times and all those designated as "Fake News" by Donald Trump.
Although they may not get it right every time they try their best under very difficult circumstances to get it right. And although they have been designated by Donald Trump as "Enemies of the People" we need to keep in mind that this technique of attempting to destroy Freedom Of the Press has been the beginning of the end of Freedom in many countries of the world including Nazi Germany.
Lets not let it become the beginning of the End of Freedom in The United States of America.
NO, Mister Trump. We are not living in Nazi Germany and never will be.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
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