Dear editor:

This Fourth of July, Americans everywhere come together to celebrate a historically significant day where we broke free from the tyrannical rule of the English empire. Over the course of the past week, American politics have ramped up to the point where we are facing a new crisis with the same conflicts that our founding fathers ran up against. 

While I’ve always tended to stray away from politics, we’ve reached a point where standing to the side of issues is no longer an option. The collective outrage that sparked from the presidential debate highlights many key factors in this year's election that showcases many Americans' disdain for one if not both of the candidates, one of these issues being the candidate’s ages. Biden and Trump are 81 and 78 respectively, and there is plenty of discourse amongst Americans regarding their abilities to act as president, with many in particular urging Biden to step down, though he seems extremely committed to reelection. 

Unsurprisingly, things only got worse from there. On July 1, the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity threw a wrench into Trump’s criminal trial in his favor, citing that the president is mostly immune to prosecution when it comes to “official acts.” While it’s stated that this shouldn’t let the president do whatever they want, the subjective nature of what an “official act” is makes the line between what the president is and isn’t allowed to do very blurry.

Something that comes to mind because of this is how Trump and many of his supporters liken him to a dictator, and the recent Supreme Court decision may allow him to act as one in a certain capacity. A president with this power would be able to silence political opponents and dissidents, which is all too familiar when it comes to other countries such as Russia, where many of Vladimir Putin’s critics have succumbed to fates of suspicious natures. 

For over 200 years, the United States has operated under the principle that the power resides within the people, that no one person is more powerful than everyone, especially no kings or dictators. Now, anyone who is president of the United States is quite literally above the law, which goes against everything that the United States has stood for. 

To say that the ruling is a mistake on behalf of the Supreme Court is an understatement — it spits in the face of everything that America stands for only to serve an individual with an insatiable ego and a bloodlust for revenge. If Trump takes office and the ruling remains unchanged, that may spell disaster for countless Americans, especially when considering the proposition of Project 2025; a conservative manifesto that will attempt to end abortion access, diminish legal protections against discrimination, and axe environmental protections if put in place. 

Tensions have never been higher when it comes to the state of our country, and this crisis is one that cannot be ignored. Everything we have built for the past two-and-a-half centuries is at risk of being wiped away in favor of a man who couldn’t care less about our country, who uses patriotism as a guise to serve his own agenda based on hatred and narcissism. We have made so much progress as a nation that has benefited our country and influenced the world, yet in a few months we could lose it all. When you throw your brats on the grill and light your sparklers and bottle rockets, make sure you know where we’ve come from and how far we have progressed past a tyrannical ruler, for we may have to fight against another one very soon.

Charlie Larsen

Powell