Joining millions across the globe, thousands in Western North Carolina rallied this past weekend, demonstrating against the policies of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk while expressing grave concerns about the future of myriad federal programs and services. Their message? “We want people to know that we are not going anywhere.”

To the Editor:

For the past month, several hundred people have gathered in front of the Haywood County Courthouse at noon every Friday. We have declared our defiance of the Trump-Musk billionaire takeover of our government and their assault on freedom, justice and the well-being of our nation.

To the Editor:

This morning I read an article in the New York Times titled “Musk Targeted FEMA. Storm-Battered Communities Are Paying a Price.” The article describes how the federal government has stopped making FEMA payments to states and non-profits and has given DOGE full system access to FEMA’s financial management system.

To the Editor:

Myself, like many other people these days, are trying to keep up with the constant bombardment of the current administration’s policy changes. My brain is spinning and my mind is weary.

To the Editor:

Every so often, some politician will say something so arrogant and tone-deaf as to be compared to Marie Antoinette, the doomed queen who supposedly said of France’s starving peasants, “Then let them eat cake.”  

To the Editor:

I am a retired military officer (veteran); senior citizen; middle class; have grandchildren that are part of the LBGQ+ community; live in a rural area; have a grandchild still in school; and, I am a female.

Whether you’re Black, Hispanic, Indigenous or White — LGBTQ+ or cisgender — if you’re thinking about promoting equity and inclusion in historically marginalized communities by combating institutionalized discrimination, racism and sexism, congratulations! You just committed thoughtcrime, because some words are more equal than others. 

To the Editor:

The other night I dreamed I heard hoofbeats on Main Street in Sylva. At first, I paid them no mind. Maybe a member of the wagon train that lumbers through Western North Carolina each summer. Yet, the hoofbeats got louder and louder as the rider approached the red light in the middle of town. He was bellowing out, “The billionaires are here.” 

To the Editor:

Are Donald Trump and Elon Musk incompetent or malevolent in their actions toward America and the American people? You decide.

Trump complained about the lack of water to fight the fires in Los Angeles. He said he ordered two reservoirs north of the fires to release water.

It had been a warm spring day that finally gave way to twilight of cobalt-grey, sharpening the flashing red and blue police lights slashing through dusk restless and unyielding. Demonstrators waving signs and banging rhythmically on locked glass doors, their chants pulsed through the cool evening air. 

“Save our democracy.”