Now is the time for political engagement

To the Editor:

As the ‘26 elections approach I recall the ‘24 election, when I was canvassing for Kamala Harris for president. To the undecideds I said that a Trump victory would have disastrous national and global repercussions. That seemingly hyperbolic prediction is our reality.

In a mere 18 months, scientific and medical research has been severely curtailed and politicized. Elimination of USAID has resulted in an estimated 700,000 deaths.

Environmental protections aimed at stemming climate change have been removed. FEMA funding has been restricted or redirected to other agencies.

Universities and the press are under constant attack.

Equal rights protections have been removed by executive order. Government employees can be fired without cause. 

Election meddling by our administration has restricted access to the ballot box and silenced the voices of the majority. Election and cybersecurity have been gutted. Sowing distrust in our elections serves as a predicate to potentially seize ballot boxes and declare a national security emergency to halt the election.

With the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, healthcare costs have risen or coverage lost entirely. Hospitals risk closing. 

The attack on immigrants and asylum seekers has demonstrated unprecedented cruelty and violence. Furthermore, the current dehumanizing of immigrants is now directed at Democrats, who our president now terms “Dumocrats” and designates communists and radical left terrorists. 

I could go on.

But the goal here is a CALL TO ACTION. Now, like no other, is the time for us to engage. It’s a time to use our voices in protest, phone banking and gentle persuasion. It’s a time to use our hands in postcarding, letter writing and voter registration. It’s a time to use our feet canvassing and protesting. Lastly, it’s a time to lend our hearts to those who are suffering, frightened or in need. 

Now is the time.

Judith Mason Katonah