Many Americans are only now beginning to realize that Donald Trump is a traitor, a depraved cheat, and a shameless scoundrel. Many officials are afraid of him as he continually stokes chaos and collaborates with Vladimir Putin of Russia.

History tells us that unchecked bullies prey on the defenseless. They excuse themselves through a sense of superiority, entitlement, and privilege. The disgraceful clown show in the Oval Office starring Putin’s asset Donald Trump and the cast of spineless sycophants on February 27, 2025 was a cringe-worthy spectacle of ugly Americans for all the world to see bullying at its worst.

The shining star on that occasion, however, was President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy of Ukraine who stood taller than the passel of bullies in the room. That unfortunate spectacle was a distasteful display of hubris, sycophancy, disrespect, and incivility towards a leader seeking reinforcement from the further slaughter, and theft of his country’s land and minerals, while both Putin and Trump embezzle and undermine their own at home; similarly, Adolph Hitler’s rise in Nazi Germany (1933-1945). What is the appeal and fanatical hold that Donald Trump has on Americans who still support him? Why so few profiles in courage?

Like true patriots over generations who did not claim “bone spurs” to avoid military service, my family also hails from a lengthy line of service members: My youngest brother was among 241 soldiers who died in the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon on October 23, 1983. Such sacrifices over generations have allowed Donald Trump his excesses at home, as he now walks over their graves and frequently mugs the flag for photo ops. It is Donald Trump who is ungrateful, not President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy.

Democracy requires courage. I stand for the U. S. Constitution. I stand for the esteemed and grateful President Zelenskyy. I stand for Ukraine.

Semper Fi, I am

Cynthia Ebben

A Gold Star sister, an American patriot

Thomasville resident