<p><strong>To the editor:</strong></p>
<p>In a 1940 speech, President Franklin Roosevelt addressed the question of whether to cozy up to totalitarian regimes. In part, he said: “They say that we can and should become the friends and even the partners of the Axis powers. Some of them even suggest that we should imitate the methods of dictatorships. Americans never can and never will do that.”</p>
<p>America now faces a similar situation. Do we cozy up to a ruthless leader who sought and continues to seek to undermine the American electoral process? Or do we stand firm in our support of democracy, freedom and human rights?</p>
<p>This fall, we will not be electing a president; but we will be electing a Congress. It is imperative that we elect representatives and senators will stand up FOR American democracy and not meekly follow the president down the path toward a virtual dictatorship that is subservient to foreign powers anathema to American mores and standards.</p>
<p>The ballot is the most powerful weapon that average Americans have in the fight against tyranny. Use it! Vote this fall for a stronger Congress.</p>
<p><p style="text-align: right"><strong>Richard Gotshall</strong></p>
<p><p style="text-align: right"><strong>Franklin</strong></p>
