I am reading “Franklin And Winston – An Intimate Portrait Of An Epic Friendship” by Jon Meacham. In the book, the author references and quotesFranklin D. Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms,” as outlined in his State of the Union address on January 6, 1941. These freedoms are:

Please note the date of President Roosevelt’s State of the Union address–January 6, 1941–exactly eight years to the day before January 6, 2021, when a band of lawless individuals, with then President Trump’s apparent blessing, assaulted the United States Capitol, in a forceful attempt to overthrow the government and evident intent to hang then Vice President Mike Pence.

1. Freedom of Speech; The right to express oneself freely.

2. Freedom of Worship” The right to worship God in one’s own way.

3. Freedom from Want; Economic security and prosperity for all nations.

4. Freedom from Fear; Worldwide reduction of armaments to prevent aggression.

I have read these words many times, but as I was doing so this morning, I was struck by how much these freedoms are at risk, once again, by the upcoming Presidency of Donald Trump. President Elect Trump is, continuing and broadening the tyrannical policies begun in the four years of his first administration, with even greater ferocity and assault on the freedoms of the American people. Worst of all, he has support from many of our own people to try and dissolve freedom in this country–first by the promise he has made to impose tariffs which will, in my view, drastically affect the stability of economic life and freedoms of the American people, sparking inflation, and possibly, ultimately, combined with other tyrannical tools, plunge the country into an economic recession similar to what we experienced in 2008, along with spiraling out of control inflation.

Freedom from fear is also at stake, brought on by the plans he has outlined to deport millions of immigrants in this country, many of whom are here legally, and married to United States Citizens. This plan, if enacted, will not only place our own people at the mercy of the military, but will cause mass fear, as families are rounded up and family members are separated from one another and children are taken away, just as they were during Trump’s first term.

Then you have the economic impact of all of this on the country, when millions are no longer available to provide goods and services to the people through the service aspect of the economy.

Finally, you have the tyranny that right-wing religious conservatives are perpetrating on our freedom to worship or not as we please, and uniformly choosing what books our children should read and what education they should receive. And it goes further, in the context of appointing people to Cabinet positions who want to eliminate government departments and who do not support long-relied upon vaccinations against diseases to protect the public health and safety., not to metion coices of personnel who, in the judgment of many, are patently unqualified for such roles in government

I worry that our once vibrant and embracing “arsenal of democracy” is on the brink of extinction if we do not wake up and expel such tyranny from government in 2026, when we can again elect members of Congress, that is, if Trump has not suspended or destroyed the United States Constitution by then.