Now is the time for leaders, especially elected leaders, to stand by the values in the Declaration, not needlessly try to destroy them. Those values are why black Americans like Cori Bush are routinely elected and wield great power in this country, not despite them. That is only one reason, but it is the most powerful. We will not survive as a nation if these tactics become mainstream, as they appear to be doing. I flew over this country almost every day for 25 years of my more than 3-decade military career and I never saw a red state or a blue state, only the United States of America that I will always love.