To the editor:
I am thrilled that both the Jewish hostages and the Palestinian prisoners were released today, October 13. President Trump deserves credit for achieving this first major step. However, there is much work to be done before there is actually peace in the Middle East. The actual plan has 20 steps.
Meanwhile, here in the United States, the duly elected president has been expanding the power of the executive branch for the last 10 months. At this point, neither the Congress nor the U.S. Supreme Court seems to be acting independently. Speaker Johnson has given the legislature six weeks off since the end of July. The court has been rubber stamping the president’s actions. It seems that President Trump feels he has immunity regarding any decisions he makes while he is in office. I wish I believed his intentions were to help the people who voted for him. Alas, I do not.
Yet, President Trump is not actually my main concern. It is truly unfortunate that he has chosen to surround himself with people whose only qualification is that they have pledged loyalty to him. I wish he had a cabinet of people who possessed expertise in their fields. Instead, during his campaign, he denied any knowledge of Project 2025, but he chose Stephen Miller (one of its main architects) to be his deputy chief of dtaff. I urge citizens to read this document. It outlines what is actually happening in the government of our country today.
Are We The People just going to watch our democracy become an autocracy? Trade tariffs and a diminished role in NATO have already pulled the United States back from its major leadership role in the world. Although some world leaders humor Trump by flattering him to get what they need, other world leaders just ignore what he says. Do I need to mention Vladimir Putin’s name? It is time for the citizens of the United States to stand up and say, “no!” The United States is the oldest democracy. That means the citizens need to act to ensure it endures.
Stefanie Ayers Cravedi
Greensboro
Stefanie Cravedi is on the board of Northeast Kingdom Public Journalism, publisher of The Hardwick Gazette.
