To the editor:

This year, 2024, may well go down in history as the year that the idea of America, and the democracy which embodies that idea, began to collapse. Such a disaster is not just possible. Depending upon who becomes our next president, it could be imminent.

This would not be so if the non-Maga Republican senators and representatives in Congress weren’t reacting to their party dictator’s threats to ruin their political careers if they don’t do his bidding. What a different position we would be in if they were to place the preservation of our country above the preservation of their political careers.

So, my plea is to all you Republican and Independent voters out there. Show the courage that your congressional representatives lack. Act as a one-time coalition and vote for the only candidate who believes in our democracy.

You have no other choice. Should our democracy fail, how long do you think it will take for Russia and China to pick up the pieces?

Patrick Shannon,

Lawrence