Along with many citizens, I am deeply worried, to put it mildly, about the direction of our country under the Trump presidency. I recommend reading the book “How Democracies Die,” by Levitsky and Ziblatt.

The book outlines several countries, over various times in history, where a democracy changed into a dictatorship. The premise of the book rested on the research that this horrible transition occurs when members of the ruling party fail to stand up to a ruling tyrant.

Sadly, I see this happening today in our country. Too many elected officials, especially Republicans, are willingly setting up the stage for our country to change course, allowing a tyrant, even though he was elected, to usurp power and to use it in nefarious ways that will lead to the unraveling of our democracy.

If the president and his cronies, like Elon Musk, continue to bully our allies, destroy the safety network that many of our citizens depend on to lead decent lives, bulldoze branches of our government that guarantee constitutional rights, and dismantle government agencies that protect us from predators, our country will crumble.

I implore our elected officials of both parties to lead with courage and to speak out loudly, in voice and vote, against the shocking crises we are waking up to each day.

Lucy Breslin
South Portland