I recently finished reading “The Diary of Anne Frank.” It was tedious and exhausting. I wanted to give up, but found myself rooting against the fate that I knew was coming for Anne in a Nazi concentration camp. Like many freedom loving Americans, I asked, “Why didn’t the German people stand up to Hitler?”
However, history is repeating itself in our nation. It is easy to become worn down, and to turn away from the TV or the news stream when President Donald Trump takes another outlandish action to empower and enrich himself, and harm the people of the world. We may be inclined to calculate whether his last executive order, or lawsuit, or appointee will hurt me personally. Too often, we decide, “It doesn’t hurt me too much, so I’ll let it pass and keep quiet.”
It’s time to realize that we are in a marathon of opposing an autocrat who will do grievous harm to our nation and its people and, indeed, to the world and its people. He will continue his full attack on every front to wear us down. Please put on your running shoes and speak justice and truth to his misguided use of power.
• Please speak out for immigrants, or the people of Ukraine or Gaza.
• If they don’t concern you, speak out for the federal employees, professionals who serve all of us, or speak out for freedom of the press.
• If those don’t concern you, speak out against unfair tariffs that harm our allies and increase costs to American citizens and companies (and our allies),
• If those don’t concern you, speak out for the people of the FBI and DOJ who protect all of us.
• If that doesn’t concern you, speak out for the hundreds of thousands who will die for lack of the food or medicines from USAID.
• If that doesn’t concern you, speak out for the millions who will die for the lack of legitimate science and medicine at the NIH and CDC and our lack of support for WHO … or the billions who will die from the failure of the world to respond together to climate change and global warming.
• If that doesn’t concern you, speak out against the unfettered power of unelected billionaire donors.
Trump is a threat to democracy, to the weakest and most marginalized of us, to world peace and to the future of our planet.
Speak now! And keep it up for the next four years.
Dr. Leo E. Hanifin
Brighton
