“ Where has the America I love, and that the world used to respect, gone? How did we allow this to happen? And what can we do to stop it?”

To the New York Times Editor:

Who stole my “America the Beautiful”?

I’m 7,000 miles from home because of Covid-19. We were locked down in April in New Zealand and are still here.

I read The New York Times each day to try to keep up with America. Week by week, it has been getting worse. But today, the combination of headlines about President Trump’s deranged rantings and about the far-right extremists who were allegedly going to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan made my heart cry out.

Where has the America I love, and that the world used to respect, gone? How did we allow this to happen? And what can we do to stop it?

Vote Donald Trump out, for certain. Until then, stay safe, America. My heart is there, and I’m watching, and praying, from afar.

Diane Covington-Carter
Pakawau, New Zealand