LETTER: Donald Trump and Neville Chamberlain

I watched the entire live stream from President Donald Trump’s meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and came away shocked. I was flooded with raw emotions, and I have never been more saddened and ashamed by a president’s actions.

Mr. Trump’s desire to get the deal reminds me of Neville Chamberlain’s desire to avoid war by giving the Sudetenland to Hitler in 1938. Chamberlain was lauded for getting a deal, but history shows it was a mistake. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.

Zelenskyy and Ukraine did not start this war. The dishonor for starting this falls squarely on one man’s shoulders, and it’s Vladimir Putin. After a military career that lasted 28 years — and included deployments to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm, Somalia for Restore Hope, and Haiti for Uphold Democracy, as well as deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, I understand better than most the cost of war. No deal is worth abandoning friends and allies, especially the deal Mr. Trump is trying to make. If we make this deal without including Ukraine in the talks, we will have abdicated our superpower and world leader role. We will show our friends, allies and potential allies that they cannot trust us. We will be seen as honorless and unwilling to do the hard right over the easy wrong.

I was raised in the Midwest and taught that a man’s actions speak louder than words. From a very young age, I learned to help friends and neighbors during times of need and always treat others how I want to be treated. Last week, I watched my commander-in-chief abandon a friend, which is wrong. Mr. Trump’s actions confirmed that I was correct in leaving the GOP and strengthened my resolve to speak out.

If you feel as I do but have been telling yourself your voice doesn’t matter, it does. A single small voice is hard to hear; a million small voices are louder than thunder. Please write, call, or email your elected officials and tell them abandoning our friends is wrong. Gather strength from others. The butterfly effect says that a gale-force wind starts with the flap of a butterfly’s wing.

To those who disagree with me, I stand on this hill and proudly proclaim, “Me and my house stand with Ukraine.”