Folks, America has never been perfect. We’ve done some terrible things—many of our founders were slaveholders—but they gave us a strong Constitution designed to bend toward justice over time. 

In spite of our failures, most of us grew up believing this country was really trying to become fairer, freer and more humane. 

So, right now, what are we becoming?

We are alienating long-time allies, sending contradictory signals about Ukraine, while cozying up to autocrats who watch with quiet satisfaction. At home, tariffs lurch unpredictably, manufacturing struggles, and “the great big beautiful” bill sold as a small, temporary sacrifice, seriously threatens health care and food assistance for the most vulnerable.

I don’t pretend to have any answers, but I do hope that even Americans who disagree with me sharply on policy join me in recognizing the danger of cruelty masquerading as strength and chaos being sold as leadership. 

I hope that, whatever our differences, we can all agree that being ruled by a megalomaniac who invents law on the fly is not who Americans are or want to be.

Edward Kornbluh, DDS
Schodack Landing, NY