Cast a ballot in defense of democracy during this year’s November election

To the editor:

In light of the political, economic and health issues in our country today, I am reminded of the proverb about a frog placed in a pot of cold water. The frog floats unawares as the water is heated to boiling and it meets its demise.

Our country has been blessed with two centuries of remarkably successful democracy. This stretch of success has created complacency or even overconfidence in the stability of our government.

Democracies such as ours do not crumble overnight. They end as a result of the collapse of the rule of law, the system of checks and balances, the independent authority of the judiciary and the freedom of the press. They end when lying becomes acceptable, when a political figure’s private interest goes before the public interest and when threatening political rivals with harm or imprisonment becomes the norm.

All of these have been done before our eyes, with the sycophantic help from the Republican Party, including our very own U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, since Donald Trump has become president.

The proverbial pot is near boiling and our democracy is at stake. Change is required in November.

David James

Eureka