--- title: The Line in the Sand author: George Mandis date: 2017-05-09 tags: post, post, political --- Trump's presidency has markedly changed my perception of the U.S. Still, there's a hesitancy to point at every transgression and rake him over the coals for it. There's a fear that if your vigilance meter is turned up all the way, all the time, then it becomes meaningless. Then again, if outrageous things are really happening at a consistent clip and you're not expressing outrage and protesting you risk normalizing abhorrent behavior and autocratic tactics. The hesistancy may prove to be unhelpful. From the start of all this I thought there was one sure line in the sand: the U.S. cannot and will not [arrest journalists](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/business/media/reporter-arrested-tom-price.html?_r=0). That's bush league dictator horse shit. And now that it's happened I think we're all waiting to see if Dan Heyman is the canary in the coal mine.