To the Editor,

The world we knew and loved has been stolen from us by a very smart, clever, devious, ambitious group calling themselves The Heritage Foundation to give some legitimacy to their existence. And they won. Not in an overnight raid of storm troopers at the gate but by decades of nibbling away at our valued institutions designed to keep such predators at the door.

None of this group were very visible and even when they did come out with their Project 2025 manifesto clearly stating their strategy to destroy our democracy and replace it with authoritarian rule. Seems nobody took it that seriously even when the Republican party replaced their traditional party platform for the 2024 election with that almost exact document. The tenor of that document was hidden by its relatively unknown authors with the exception of Stephen Miller who has risen without much visibility to be the right-hand advisor, speech- writer, and strategist for the president. 

So, what do we do to get our country and democracy back? Democrat leadership and political advisors seem to be stuck with the traditional methods of winning elections by soliciting contributions to fund their infra-structure for the next election. But there may not be a next election or least it will face a bunch of obstacles being pursued by Republicans and the president to significantly reduce turnout which is a huge advantage for them. 

These months since inauguration day has shown how fragile our great democracy is. Cruel and unnecessary deportations, stupid tariffs, America first isolationism, reduced support for NATO and Ukraine while cozying up to our only real enemy and threat, passing incredibly destructive economic legislation with no plans to replace the loss of vital services, firing thousands of government workers ignoring due process…just a few of the destructive acts of this administration.

The current cabinet is filled with incompetent loyalists with no real experience in the positions they are filling, just a pledge to be loyal to the president…period. They, the Senate, Congress and the Supreme Court all swore to defend the constitution and rules and regulations derived therefrom.  They have sold out that pledge to escape the wrath and potential punishment of the executive branch and advisors through their mouthpiece, Donald J Trump.  

Amidst all the gloom there is still great opportunity to recover what we’ve lost.

Thanks to our advanced technology very little progressive data has been lost. Even the personnel let go still have their skills and memory if brought back into the fold. Democrats can use this advanced skill set along with emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence to define an exciting path forward across all economic and social levels even the rich would benefit from.

Democrats must use social media to help advance the joy and hope we would get back to by drawing in new and disaffected voters with fresh ideas for the future while resetting our democracy back to where it was a short few months ago. It’s not that hard if we get back on the offensive, not cower in the shadow of last year’s defeat. We can do it. We have to for future generations.

Lee Purrier,

Park Rapids, Minn.