‘I alone’ danger

It looked as if everyone at Donald Trump’s Thursday night party last week at the Republican National Convention was having a great time. But near the end of his speech came a sentence that should set off alarms for Americans.

A man who has no experience serving within our system of government at the federal or even the state or local level, said, “Nobody knows the system better than me.” This is, of course, an absurdity. But what followed was truly dark. Mr. Trump continued, “… which is why I alone can fix it.” This was rewarded with thunderous applause.

Mr. Trump’s “I alone” assertion is alarming. It reveals his obsession with being in charge, the center of attention, the focus of a grandiose performance, as evidenced by his running of his campaign. More seriously, it is the antithesis of the collaborative American spirit, of working together for the common good. There are names for governments led by “I alone” thinking, but none of these names is democracy.

We all want to be part of something larger than ourselves, to be on the winning team. So it’s hard to fault Mr. Trump’s cheering audience. But to the many good people who are being led by this Pied Piper ... look carefully at his comments over time and you will see sentiments that vilify people by religion, gender, nationality, color, ethnicity, poverty, disabilities, even war heroes … all those who are not like him. It almost seems that, in his mind, he alone is worthy. ROBERTA HARTMAN Peters