Dear Editor,

In reference to a letter that appeared in the Courier on July 12, do I understand correctly that some people would like for the United States to have a king? It appears that Donald Trump would be glad to accommodate by crowning himself king or some variation thereof. He is riding rough-shod over our constitution, our government and our fellow human beings. Why, he’d throw you and me under the bus in an instant, Republican and Democrat alike.

As for the assertion that Democrats are “a bunch of poor losers,” that is not the case. We are standing up for what is right. We are not giving in or going along. We refuse to pretend it’s OK for Donald Trump and his cronies to pervert the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, essential branches of government, and agencies that we Americans and others around the world have depended on. It is not OK for him to take food out of the mouths of children or meagre benefits away from the disabled. It is not OK for him to break the law with impunity. It is not OK for him to dehumanize hardworking, honest immigrants and deny them the American principle of due process. The list is long.

We are the 50.2% of voters (Donald Trump did not exactly deliver “a beating at the polls”) who had the foresight not to vote for him. We have the right to demonstrate and protest and be seen and heard on our courthouse square as well as on the front page of our local newspaper. We are free to do so because this is the United States of America.

If we don’t pay attention, our democracy could slip away from us. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, we honor the history of our great nation. What about our future?

Clara Keyes, Athens