Trina Sorenson, in her letter ("U.S. may be near dictatorship," Feb. 4), states we live in a uniquely dangerous era when we are "but one executive order or declaration of martial law away" from tyranny. She suggests only an armed citizenry has stayed the tyrant's hand.
What Ms. Sorenson doesn't realize is that we have always been vulnerable to tyranny, the government has never been frightened by the puny weapons permitted to American citizens, and what has kept us safe from corrupt men erasing democracy is intense citizen involvement in the political process.
In the past, state and national governments have abused their power, sometimes in the extreme. What has forced these governments back into decent behavior has been organized, massive, nonviolent citizen action.
The struggle to make right what is wrong has too often been prolonged and arduous, but it is the genius of democracy that change — the implementation of good laws or the repealing of bad laws — does not require gunplay.
STEVE TRIMM
Albany