Dear U.S. Senators,
When the time comes to vote in the Impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump, where will you stand? Will you vote according to the truth and your deepest conscience - or will you vote according to lesser or baser instincts or motivations? If the evidence reveals that the President committed impeachable offenses, will you vote according to your oath - or will you vote to trivialize, minimize, excuse or enable actions of the President that violate the principles of our Democracy?
History will judge the actions of those holding the mantle of this responsibility. Ask yourself: what side of history will you be on? When future generations read about this time in history and where you stood - what will they see, what will they know? What legacy will they see in the democracy they inherit, that unfolded from how you stood?
If the deepest truth you arrive at, in deepest knowing and in good faith, counsels you to vote not to convict the President, then let that be your vote. But if your deliberations and conscience dictate otherwise, and you fail to follow that mandate, ask yourself who, and what, you would then be failing.
Your oath is as solemn as the oath the President has taken. May you abide it. The crosswinds in this time are strong, and many. May your course be true. On behalf of all that it is your responsibility to uphold and stand for, may you vote in accordance with the truth, and the fullness of the oath you have sworn.
Robert McIlwain
Pelham, MA
A prior version of this letter was published in the Amherst Bulletin (Northampton MA) on 12/27/19.
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