Stick together

March 28, 2025: I am grateful that The Philadelphia Inquirer posted the following letter today.

To the Editor:

When my 6-year-old granddaughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, making her dependent on injected insulin to live, the singer-songwriter Nick Jonas, who also has Type 1, became her hero. If he could handle this evil disease, she figured, so could she. Two years later, she testified before the Food and Drug Administration about the necessity of research into creating an artificial pancreas to save the lives of children, and quoted a line from one of Jonas’ songs, “A Little Bit Longer”: You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Shortly after, the FDA stepped up its work to develop a system to automatically supply insulin to the body. Today, facing devastating and haphazard cuts, it probably could not.

Surely, most people who support our 47th president do not do so with the intention of injuring vulnerable children or adults in crisis. They support him because he has skillfully convinced them he cares about them. Surely also, the ultimate threat of isolating us from our allies while praising despots has not sunk in. Supporters don’t yet realize that they, too — that all of us — are in grave danger because Donald Trump’s ultimate dream is to divide the world with the tyrants he respects and wishes to emulate.

History validates that a nation’s power begins to unravel as leaders encourage a violation of the boundaries of decency, and when concern for the well-being of others is ignored. Let’s fight Trump with a passionate defense of truth — in every possible way. In addition to our courts, each member of Congress who cherishes America’s founding principles must call town halls to motivate purposeful choices for action and involvement. Outreach to the White House and Republican elected officials must unceasingly convey that we are not afraid — that we refuse to be cowed, fooled, or pitted against each other. Because, as my granddaughter warned: You don’t know what you have till it’s gone.

Sarakay Smullens, Philadelphia Inquirer