Dear Mr. President:

I did not vote for you in the 2008 election, but after you were elected, I prepared to give you my wholehearted support and respect as the new President of the United States.

I was raised to understand that is what we, as Americans, should do. I continue to respect the office of President, but now …

Now I am concerned by the recent actions of you and the Congress of the United States.

I am concerned that you and Congress are setting a dangerous precedent by insisting that one individual – the CEO of General Motors – resign. In effect, forcing him out of his position.

I am not supporting GM or any of the other auto makers in their behavior that has contributed to our current economic problems. I sympathize – I empathize – with those who are angry that, in fact, you did not take similar steps with bank and financial institution CEOs who, if anything, made an even bigger contribution to this economic mess.

But I worry that, by targeting a single individual in a single industry – a so-far still privately owned industry – you are opening doors that should not be opened. If you can justify this current action, could you not at some future date justify the firing of the CEO of, for example, Barnes & Noble? … Or one of the big retail stores chains? Or the publisher of a newspaper or managers of radio or television stations with whom you have a disagreement?

Admittedly, these are extreme examples … At this time. But in a democracy – or a democratic republic – freedoms are not easily taken away wholesale, but they can be leeched away a little at a time, an encroachment made here, a subtle shift there, in the name of good intentions.

As the old saying goes, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Mr. President, if you can indeed pull us out of this current economic mess – and you can achieve it honorably, with our precious freedoms intact – I will give you my wholehearted support when you seek re-election in 2012.

But I am concerned, I am in fact afraid, with regard to where this current trend may take us.