Lately, I’ve grown deeply concerned about the direction in which our country is heading. President Trump’s decision to deploy the Marines domestically strikes me as an alarming overreach of executive power. It feels like a calculated move to escalate tensions in Los Angeles, one of America’s largest cities — a city already under stress, manufacturing a crisis rather than solving one. While some protests may involve isolated violence, these incidents do not amount to a rebellion; treating them as such feels disingenuous and dangerous.

I can’t shake the suspicion that this may also be a distraction tactic — drawing attention away from a vital Senate debate over a budget reconciliation bill with significant implications for the future. It’s a moment when legislators need focus and integrity, not a national spectacle.

Rather than using thoughtful, informed measures to address government shortcomings, certain leaders appear to be taking a wrecking-ball approach. Their rhetoric feels reckless, their decisions chaotic. In my view, they aren’t reforming; they’re dismantling. And, at the helm of it all, I see congressional and administrative leadership that lacks the competence and vision our country so desperately needs.

In this moment of uncertainty and upheaval, we don’t need heroes in capes. We need people with integrity and courage, individuals willing to speak up, even if their voices shake. They don’t have to be loud, just vocal. When the stakes are this high, silence is complicit.

Frances Lockwood
Phillips