Letter to the Editor – The Denver Post
February 8, 2026
Cooperation, checks and balances are the solutions to our cultural clash
The recent tragedies in Minnesota have become a constitutional crisis. Extreme thinking and behavior have escalated a cultural clash. We need to work on intergovernmental cooperation and take a long step away from politics as usual.
Based on the video footage, many people believe there should be a murder charge in the death of Alex Pretti. But outrage does not change the supremacy clause of the constitution or define peaceful protest. Local authorities have no more jurisdictional authority to remove federal agencies from states than the President has to pardon state offenders. This matters because the force of government power is not going away and needs to be restrained with checks and balances.
The constant blaming, labelling, discrediting, and maligning of government service is not going to solve anything. The left targets law enforcement and the right targets every other branch of government.
Government and law enforcement are turning against each other and looking for solutions to problems that can only be managed, not solved.
And why? Because people cannot agree on what the problem is. Both the public and government officials are making up their own definition of the word ‘illegal” and cannot even agree who is law enforcement. This has increased disrespect for government and endangered law enforcement and the public.
Immigration reform will help everybody and help avoid economic disaster. .
Consider the fact that misplaced rage and words and phrases like Gestapo, thug, defund the police, goon, criminal, scumbag, even small government, are powerful and pervasive. Their immediate impact is not as deadly as a bullet, but has certainly helped create the authoritarian leadership we have now.
Timothy D. Allport, Arvada