The war in Ukraine poses an existential threat to life on earth, with Putin becoming more isolated and hinting at using nuclear weapons. The implications of him using nuclear or chemical/biological weapons are too horrible for me to wrap my brain around. But the threat to democracy here at home, from home-grown authoritarians/terrorists, scares me more than Putin. Telling us that freedom to chose which religion to follow, or not, is only a step away from telling us that two plus two equals five. That should scare each one of us to our very bones.

For years I was grateful that I won the birth lottery and was born here in America. I believed that I lived in a country that was far from perfect, but at least was moving along a path that arched towards equal justice and opportunity for all. Now with the likes of McConnell, Graham, Cawthorn, Hawley, Barr, et al, corrupting the promise of the Declaration of Independence, I fear like I’ve never feared before.