Letter to the Editor:

After 2 months of Trump's reign, we are in shock, feeling helpless, angry, and fearful. There is no complete cure, but doing something – no matter how insignificant – will give your morale a lift.

 

Here's what you can do.  Become informed.  Write letters to the editor. Talk to your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, strangers.  Talk about what to do, as an individual or as a group.  When such conversations reach a critical threshold, they will spread like wildfire.

 

Go to “5calls.org”.  Choose an issue.  Telephone your Representatives and tell them what action you want.  Join “Indivisible.org” and participate in coordinated, nation-wide demonstrations that support democracy.

Historians have found that when 3.5% of a population participated simultaneously to oppose an authoritarian regime, it collapsed shortly thereafter. Participation in the 2017 Women's March on Washington reached approximately half that percentage, without including thousands who protested simultaneously all over the country. Millions of Americans, committed to a common goal, have the force of an incoming tide.

To function effectively, Democracy demands on-going input from informed, engaged citizens.  We have learned the consequences of neglecting those requirements. Let us restore democracy and – this time – guard against those who would destroy it.

 

Dan Leary

Moody, Mo.