I have been trying to understand the Republican vision for our country — how will a “great again” country will look. It seems to me it will look a lot like Russia — an oligarchy led by an autocrat. There will be no free press and criticism of the government will be treated as treason. Our only role in the world will be military. We will have no friends among other countries (except perhaps Russia). Our northern and southern neighbors become our enemies and are threatened with invasion or annexation. We have abandoned our support for our own citizens who have fallen through the cracks of our economy. We respect only white heterosexual Christian men.

It is hard for me to believe that this is what most Republicans envision, but it is clearly where we are headed. I hope that I am wrong and that responsible Republicans will redirect this heading.

I am a liberal Democrat, but I welcome debate and collaboration with anyone to address the serious issues we face, like immigration, housing, and the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel. I hope we can find the space to do so.

Douglas Way

Middlebury