MY TURN: Danger lurks at nearly every turn we now take

Figuratively speaking, there is a dictator on the run in Russia, a madman at work mobilizing troops, annexing lands, crushing dissent, and threatening nuclear annihilation to neighboring countries that cross him.

All the while, another kind of tyrant has been wreaking havoc all across the U.S. in recent weeks, unleashing its destructive fury in a way that bordered on the apocalyptic for the countless victims left in its wake. It is the gun, whether in the form of a revolver, a pistol, or an AR-15 assault rifle. All three have become weapons of choice for the trigger-happy gun lovers who have turned this country into an armed camp.

Coincidentally, a different type of evil is now gaining force in states across the nation, causing uncertainty and unrest that could pose lasting damage to our basic way of life. It is known as the “lie,” the falsehood promulgated by extremists calling into question the integrity of electoral process with a hidden agenda of subverting the vote.

In some form or another, those three faces of evil are expected back for countless curtain call in the year ahead, offering us a vivid reminder of the dangers that lurk for the unprepared.

The nuclear saber-rattling in Russia, of course, has the potential to become a worldwide catastrophe, somewhat similar in scope to the destruction that ultimately awaits mankind for an unwillingness to address the severity of climate change, a scientific phenomenon that has the power to cause widespread drought, spark massive wildfires, and spawn ferocious storms. Equally alarming is the public’s willingness to buy into bogus claims of grand conspiracies, lies that gain a momentum of their own the further they spread.

This summer when the 2024 presidential campaign begins with a series of candidate debates, America will have a reckoning with the truth – or whatever is left of it after the concept has been repeatedly shredded in the run-up to the election by a legion of lightweights that have gutted the Republican Party.

The crossroads – where true and false intersect –lead to a well-worn political path for the self-obsessed and may well resemble an election graveyard for those bent on aiding a mutinous attempt to destroy our democracy.

Regrettably, the battle for our election souls is not being waged by the best and the brightest that America has to offer. That ship sailed years ago when our political parties became mired in seemingly intractable disputes over social and economic disparities, causing partisan fragmentation that threatens to send such time-honored principles as cooperation and compromise into full scale retreat.

That is unless we – on election day November 5, 2024 – decide to chart a different course by writing a new narrative, a political script featuring high-quality candidates of competency and character who believe in the fundamental truths framed within democracy itself.

The time has come to rid ourselves of the likes of Donald Trump and his cast of political clowns (Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, George Santos, Josh Hawley, Tommy Tuberville, and Ted Cruz, etc.), as their collective toxicity has poisoned the well of political reason and good behavior.

Instead, we need to embrace candidates who believe in a bipartisan approach to problem-solving and display a desire to restore civility and credibility to the political process, and to renounce the demagogues who aim to hijack it.  Only then can we truly make this country great again.