Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, born Edward Tevis Wheeler, thinks he has the legitimate right to order every resident of Portland to stay at home after 8:00 PM without due process of law. Due process of law is necessary to determine if each individual has in fact done something to justify ordering that person to stay in their home. The idea that Mayor Wheeler would feel entitled to the point of trying to become everyone's mother demonstrates a disturbing amount of power being wielded by local governments in recent months. Governor Kate Brown's stay at home order was another such example.
The government at all levels has demonstrated that it only upholds the Constitution as long as upholding it is beneficial to them. The second they find a situation in which they can argue that honoring the Constitution might not be the safest choice, they decide to do what they want with no regard for the Constitution. That is why the government is not legitimate. They swear to protect and defend the Constitution only to do the opposite whenever they can argue that it is safer not to be free. That is not the American way. The American way has always been that it is better to be free than safe.
Last night was an amazing site in which heroes marched on the so called "Justice Center" in downtown Portland. They smashed windows and set it on fire, but despite how great a sight that was, it left people wanting more. Now Ted Wheeler thinks he has the right to order every person in Portland, including people like this author who was not downtown last night, to stay home after 8:00 PM. Is Ted Wheeler our mother? Are we back in high school? Do we not have a civic duty to disobey the government when they are wrong?
In this author's opinion the protests of last night were a step in the right direction, but not good enough. The government is still here to deny us our rights and people remain imprisoned in the injustice center. As much as we would like to urge people to go back and finish the job, we know that the temple of tyranny too well defended now. Perhaps people should choose to protest somewhere less defended? Someplace where people have protested Ted Wheeler in the past on a personal level like the above address.