Obviously, it follows Donald Trumpin his election to the presidency, many of us misunderstood the ultimate priorities of most Americans. The election suggests those priorities are issues around three things: immigration, inflation and inclusion.

It’s not that Trump’s opponents didn’t see some of the same problems. We simply prioritized other issues that most Americans saw but appreciated less. But those defeated priorities are as worthy as ever. They must not be abandoned.

For starters, no American should be above the law. Trump incited crowds to attack the US Capitol, disrupting democracy and leaving as many nine dead. He will face no consequences for this. It’s wrong and people should say so. The men who attacked the Capitol injured more than 140 US police officers. These miscreants who steal will no longer be prosecuted and may be pardoned. It is wrong and law abiding people should speak out against it.

A second Trump administration should have a fair chance to deliver on its policies. This is democracy. But we have to make it unacceptable for Trump to do this without the law — to overstep his powers, to ignore the courts, to ignore Congressand, as he is wont to do, he ignores basic morality as he beats his enemies and whips his whims into the nightmares of others. When it happens, we must not be silent. Neither do those he appoints to office.

Trump’s top aides, members of his cabinet and any junior officials who carry out his instructions will receive none of the absolute immunity granted to the president. And if you work for him, remember before you go along with his plans that he can’t absolve you of civil liability or state court criminal liability, and on a whim, he might not absolve you not at all So follow your leader, but don’t think you can get away with breaking the law just because your boss did.

It seems that “democracy” proved too murky a concept in this election. But democracy is about elections — about allowing people to choose Biden over Trump and Trump over Harris. We should call Trump when he lies that our election is rigged and full of fraud when he loses, but a mandate from the people when he wins. Trump’s willingness to undermine democracy is deeply immoral, especially the attack on the Capitol and the false claims about the 2020 election. No decent person should be silent about this.

So is Trump’s commitment to the Russian president Vladimir Putin and other autocrats should tell us something about his commitment to democracy around the world. It is not strong. It will almost certainly mean the defeat of Ukraine, a country struggling to preserve its freedom from Russian tyranny. Allowing this defeat would be disastrous, and the Americans should say so, loud and clear.

Many of us have supported bipartisan legislation killed by Trump that would have strengthened our border patrols—and we would have supported even more. But we don’t want the military hauling millions of peaceful men, women and children into detention camps. It would be unthinkable, and the Americans who put Trump in power need to say so.

In the end, many of us still believe that character matters and should be defended. Our military academies have a simple honor code that promises students not to lie, cheat, steal, and not tolerate those who do. We should not have tolerated a candidate who was found to have lied under oathto have cheated in his businessand who tried steal the 2020 election. We should consider it our duty of honor over the next four years to redeem our values ​​by demanding that Trump serve with integrity.

Because honesty matters. It’s no wonder some presidents have sometimes obscured the truth, but Trump-Trump is butchering and frying chicken. We should be able to trust our president on crucial issues like national security and public health. Lying to us about such vital matters is evil, and Americans should speak up when Trump lies again. We should do the same when he blames “enemies” for everything that goes wrong in his administration.

The election is over. But the fight for the integrity of our institutions must continue.

Thomas G. Moukawsher is a former Connecticut complex litigation judge and former co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Employee Benefits Committee. He is the author of the new book, The Common Flaw: Unnecessary Complexity in Courts and 50 Ways to Reduce It.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer.