Dear Editor:

OK, the fireworks and barbecues are over, but what about Trump, Betsy Ross, Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and all the rest? Is our basic heritage really that horrible, so much so that a major American political party is proposing to change everything?

OK, for two centuries free market capitalism has allowed western nations to master science, arts, medicine, increased life expectancy, and create an unprecedented legal system that grants more rights and freedoms to individual citizens than any other culture in history. Is that so bad?

OK, the wealth of western nations may seem obscene to many, but wasn’t such wealth essentially guaranteed by granting more economic freedoms to talented and naturally competitive individuals, and couldn’t the rest of the world, especially the impoverished socialist nations, benefit in the same way by simply making some obvious political changes?

OK, the United States Constitution has always put individual freedoms above government's interests, especially during an age when the rest of the world viewed the people as mere servants to their governments, and that has made it the most successful and enviable country on earth. Is the U.S. the problem, or are you?

OK, much of humanity is still at the bottom looking up, but the stairwell has been already built, and the builders of those stairs were pioneers who should be celebrated, not condemned, and one day, you spiteful contrarians will figure it all out. Get “woke,” and start actually helping those who hurt themselves by supporting you.

Phil Molvar

Southport