Friends,
I am writing to share some of my thoughts on the election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States and what this means for the values we share as an organization.
The election of Donald Trump has set our country down a perilous and unprecedented path in American history.
Many of our nation’s worst impulses overshadowed our highest ideals in this crucial election. We witnessed dangerous levels of political threats designed to undermine the rule of law and destroy important cultural norms that allow people with different political beliefs and backgrounds to work together to solve common problems.
We saw unprecedented levels of anti-government rhetoric, with frequent charges of a shadowy “deep state,” talk of “hit lists,” of officials labeled as “enemies of the people,” and promises of mass firings of civil servants for their perceived disloyalty to Trump.
We read about plans to dismantle essential public health and environmental protections and give industry greater control over the federal government.
All this happened as evidence continues to grow that we are approaching dangerous planetary boundaries on climate change, biodiversity loss, and toxic pollution.
It is clear that we are entering a new era of uncertainty and instability for the nation. Unless Congress, the courts, and public opinion can put a check on Trump and his appointees, many of the laws, policies, and political norms that survived attacks during the first Trump administration may fall in the coming years.
We are determined to be an important check on this abuse of power.
In the coming weeks, we will put together our agenda to meet the Trump challenge while continuing our current work. We will share this agenda with you. Your input and feedback are very important to us.
Together, we are called to act in these times of challenge and change.
For over 30 years, PEER has protected conscientious public servants while combatting politicized attacks on the environment. With your help, PEER will rise to meet this challenge as well.
Thank you for being a part of this journey and supporting our efforts.
Sincerely,
Tim Whitehouse
Executive Director
