By Bruce Menke
From earliest days, our country faced challenges to its survival and won. Once again, we face a threat which can destroy us.
In the beginning, we fought the most powerful empire on earth, the British Empire, and prevailed.
In 1812, our capitol in flames and a mighty invasion by land and sea, we saved our fragile democratic republic, the only one in the world.
Throughout the 19th century, we experienced epidemics, financial crises and natural disasters, but survived and thrived.
In 1865, we ended the national sin of slavery.
We survived the First World War, Spanish Flu, Great Depression, another World War and every challenge of the 20thcentury.
Now one individual sees his path to power as preventing our country from addressing the chaos at our borders, the Russian attack on Ukraine and the threat to our European democratic allies and the horrendous violence in the Middle East.
That individual is urging his followers in Congress to refuse to address these issues of vital importance to our nation. He boasts that the paralysis of the United States is his doing and confidently expects his supporters in Congress to prolong their inaction so that he can claim the mantel of Savior as he campaigns for re-election as president.
Our nation is facing a mortal threat. But it is not at our border.
The danger is those members of Congress whom we elected to address our nation’s urgent and pressing problems and who are now refusing to do so.
Bruce Menke is a resident of Athens