As a veteran who fought for U.S., I refuse to cede my rights as an American

I served this nation as an Infantry captain in Vietnam. That war ultimately proved to be a fiasco — from its inception to our deplorable exit from Southeast Asia.

Nevertheless, I naively placed my trust in our leaders, proudly donned the uniform, and fought that ill-advised and ill-executed war believing I was serving a free nation and that the cause carried sufficient merit to be worth risking my life to support.

Never did I dream the American public, be it out of desperation, ignorance, complacency or greed, would deliver our democracy into the hands of present day would-be leaders who, if actions do speak louder or at least with greater clarity than words, care little or nothing for hard-won personal freedoms or the conscientious exercise of checks and balances required of the two nonexecutive branches of government by our Founding Fathers and our federal Constitution.

We must now allow the American dream to die

While our executive branch has morphed into a quasi-dictatorship at worst, a non-regal monarchy at best, the judicial and legislative branches have wilted in both focus and execution into shallow, toothless, hopelessly divided pawns in an undeclared war on our own citizenry.

Steve Maddox of Athens is an octogenarian Vietnam combat veteran and published poet. (Courtesy)

Those charged with the burden of protecting our freedoms from and ensuring the rule of law over Trump’s power hungry, manic actions and undiluted dictates grow daily more incapable of acting in the public interest.

The longer the rest of us remain complacent, the longer we tolerate these intolerable forays against our freedoms, the closer we come to political capitulation and the end of the American dream.