To the editor:

What if…

General George Washington had decided the fight was too hard and the odds were too long, and surrendered at Valley Forge? I’m glad we didn’t find out.

What if…

Thomas Jefferson had decided it was too idealistic and dangerous to write freedoms of assembly, speech, the press, and due process into law? I’m glad we didn’t find out.

What if…

Abraham Lincoln had decided the fight was not worth it, and let the southern states secede and take their slaves with them? I’m glad we didn’t find out.

What if…

Franklin D. Roosevelt had decided that Nazi Germany was Europe’s problem and America would just stay out of it? I’m glad we didn’t find out.

What if…

Lyndon Johnson had not signed the Civil Rights Act, because he knew doing so would cede control of the southern states to Republicans for decades (over 5 decades so far)? I’m glad we didn’t find out.

What if…

Americans don’t care enough or dare enough to stand up and stop the Republican authoritarian power grab that is violating constitutional freedoms, depriving minorities of equal rights and justice, and throwing Europe under the bus in the face of Russian aggression? I hope we don’t find out.

John Monroe

Saranac Lake