Editor, The Beacon:

I have hesitated about responding to Evan Wolf’s guest commentary, “The soft treason of Donald Trump,” because I might lose more friends over it, but it is once again time to be honest.

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”

Mr. Wolf is more articulate than I, but I agree with his commentary. Let’s face it, Mr. Trump has already told us that it’s OK to grab women (I won’t say where) if you’re famous, and it’s OK to mock a person with a disability.

This second one rankles me the most since I’ve been training service dogs for these good people for 14 years. There are way too many other examples. Some have said it’s only his behavior; no, that’s who he is.

Even if we forget the past, he has recently promised, if elected, to pardon those convicted of crimes committed Jan. 6, and will stop all assistance to Ukraine. Even his supporters realize that is what Russian President Vladimir Putin is hoping for, and may be the only reason he continues to pursue his failing war.

Mr. Trump’s name-calling of the members of the justice system who indicted him, and his name-calling of his political adversaries, sounds like the whining of a spoiled child.

I know many people who voted for Trump two times only because of the conservative justices he would nominate. They still believe he is pro-life.

Someone once said that reversing Roe will not stop abortions; changing hearts and minds will stop abortions. Now that Roe has been overturned, we see the value in this statement. Each state has passed its own laws, most of them controversial. Reversing Roe has not solved the problem, only made it more complicated, depending on where you live.

I am a practicing Catholic and staunchly pro-life, so I would like to see an end to abortion, too, but, re-electing Mr. Trump will not accomplish that. I pray I’m wrong, but I believe that putting someone who cares only about himself back in the White House will cause the democracy we cherish to fail. I can’t be quiet any longer.

Carol A. Rader

DeLand