To the editor:

There was a time when truth mattered. When leadership meant humility, and public service demanded accountability. I remember that America — the one that didn’t tolerate Watergate, that investigated swiftly, wrote books, made films, and ultimately saw a president resign. Richard Nixon, for all his flaws, put country above self.

Today, I fear we’ve lost that compass.

The MAGA movement has become a cult of personality. It demands loyalty over logic, spectacle over substance. It bends law, culture, and education through propaganda and grievance. I’ve seen this pattern before — not in our backyard, but in the history books. The Third Reich didn’t begin with tanks. It began with lies, fear, and the slow corrosion of democratic norms.

Now we hear promises that the war in Ukraine “would never have happened,” and that it could be ended “in 24 hours.” These are not policy positions. They are performances. And while the world watches, America is told to blame the previous president for everything, as if truth were a matter of branding.

What’s most unsettling is the moral contradiction. Both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin claim Christianity. They invoke faith while ignoring its most basic commandment: Thou shalt not kill. Peace is not a slogan. It is a discipline. It requires courage, empathy, and a commitment to truth.

America needs change — not just in leadership, but in spirit. We must become a model again, not of dominance, but of dignity. That means restoring bipartisanship — not as a nostalgic ideal, but as a living practice. When truth becomes partisan, democracy suffers. We need leaders from both sides willing to speak honestly, act humbly, and put country before party.

I offer this reflection not in anger, but in hope. Because I still believe in the America that chooses truth over cults, conscience over convenience, and legacy over lies. Our children deserve better. The choices we make today will shape the world they inherit tomorrow. Let us be worthy of their trust — and of history’s judgment. Let us protect not just our present, but our posterity.

Phillip Hill

Balaton