In January, Donald Trump declared war – not on a foreign adversary, but on the institutions that make American democracy work. With the stroke of a pen, he laid off tens of thousands of neutral civil servants who kept our air safe, our taxes fair and our environment clean. He slashed funding for scientists who track diseases and for teachers who open minds.
His so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” handed trillions in tax giveaways to the wealthiest while ripping away health care and food support from millions. It supercharged ICE into a domestic enforcement juggernaut and defunded the public schools that give our kids a fair shot.
These aren’t just policy disagreements. They’re a blueprint to create a more authoritarian America – one where power flows to a small elite, truth becomes whatever the government says it is, and citizens are too uninformed, too unhealthy or too fearful to push back.
A functioning democracy needs strong, impartial institutions. It needs a public that is healthy, educated and able to hold leaders accountable. It needs rules that prevent corruption and protect dissent.
We are losing all of that – faster than most people understand. If we want to save the American experiment, we have to act now. We must demand transparency. We must defend public education. We must vote as if the future of democracy depends on it – because it does.
Paul N. Black
Durango
