When I read the Gazette daily, I can’t help but be discouraged about America’s future. When I see the direction that President Donald Trump wants to take us, I feel pessimistic and scared about whether we can keep our democracy. The question for me is, how do we survive this dangerous new era? I offer here some perspectives from nearly 100 years of life that may help people get through these coming perilous years.

First of all, we need to hold tightly to our most deeply felt goals of universal value, such as saving democracy. We need to strive for these ideals and to take risks to achieve them. Second, always try to retain hope for the future. There are many uncertainties as history unfolds. There will be positive and unexpected things that can give us hope. Third, we need to realize that we are not alone and that there are many other people who feel like we do. We can work together to resist the pressure to conform to things that we don’t believe in.

Finally, it’s important to put the dramatic events of the current day in the context of the long and complex flow of history. What seems to be dire and dangerous now may indeed be so now, but it will not last forever. I hope that all of us can find the strength and courage to hold on to what we value and believe when things look dark.

Sidney Moss

Northampton