It is common in many countries to use the legal system to “lock up” the opposition. Putin and Xi do it all the time. One of China’s “selling points” in seeking allies many Afro-Asian and Latin American countries, is that unlike all those western “do gooders”, they have no problem with countries in which the “rule of law” means prosecuting those opposed to the ruling party. Would you really want the authorities wasting their time chasing down petty criminals (muggers, burglars, murderers, rapists, etc.), when they should be devoting their energies to getting the “enemies of the people” off the street (and off the ballot). America has fallen behind the other major powers in this respects, so of course there is pressure to catch up. Only some antiquarian from the “good old days” would argue that what makes America great is that we tolerate political opinions even of those we don’t approve of.
Menu