To the editor:

How do we become a more perfect union without trying to change names on a map, destroy our democracy, burn down our government and treat others as anything less than equals? What’s happening now, every day, is tearing us apart and breaking us down as a compassionate people who take care of each other and provide a beacon of light for the world.

I have never deluded myself about our nation’s history of cruelty and racism and intolerance, but I have always believed that we were growing better, slowly, as a society. I have always had hope that we could make the the world a better place for all, including future generations. I keep that faith, but we must be vigilant, speak out, resist, stand up for others and remember who we are, which is not these horrible people who are running our country now.

Paul Van Cott

Saranac Lake