Dear Editor,
Just weeks ago, I was politically exhausted. Now I find myself lying awake at night, in the grips of the realization that our country is sliding into war—not with public debate or congressional consent, but through executive command.
The recent strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities are not just headlines—they are signals of a deeper unraveling of our Democracy. While some cheer the action as overdue, I urge my fellow Americans to step back and ask: When did one person gain the unchecked power to take us to war?
Our Constitution is clear. Congress declares war. It is not a ceremonial role—it is a safeguard. Sidestepping that process is not decisive leadership; it is a dangerous precedent that places lives, both American and Iranian, in peril without accountability.
This is not about left or right. It is about right and wrong. It is about honoring the troops we claim to support by ensuring that military decisions are made with gravity, not as gambits. If we truly respect those who serve, we owe them more than unilateral commands from a war room—they deserve deliberation, truth, and a nation willing to ask the tough questions.
I write this not to fan panic, but to light a signal flare. We must wake up before another generation bears the cost of unchecked ambition cloaked in patriotism.
Susan Stone