Hope history doesn’t repeat
Chillingly frightening
Regarding “Trump paves the way for the next American strongman,” (A17, Nov. 22): Too true and chillingly frightening. If it were to come to pass I can honestly say I’m glad I’m old and thankfully most likely won’t live to see it happen. As a Vietnam War veteran I grieve over what this draft-dodging president has done to this great country.
Robert Mueller, Houston
I lived in the Republic of Panama when a coup left strongman Gen. Omar Torrijos in control, and again later, after Gen. Manuel Noriega’s rise to power. Torrijos had ridden a populist wave to power and then dismantled democracy, paving the way for Noriega’s criminal regime. Ultimately, the U.S. military toppled Noriega in 1989. The path from a weak democracy to a strongman to a dictator was gradual and subtle so as not to jeopardize the transfer of the canal to Panama. However, President Donald Trump’s tactics, some of which were alluded to in the opinion piece, quickly brought us to a world that seemed frightfully familiar to life under Noriega. Fortunately, thanks to the wisdom of the American people, he lost the election. Even so, Trump continues with dangerous and self-serving shenanigans. The American people have given themselves a last chance to alter our national course and keep our democracy strong, which we must do lest Trump’s ghost remains to haunt us. The Panamanian people looked to the world’s greatest democracy for help, but who are we gonna call? Ghostbusters?
Robert C. Baldwin, Cypress