Letters to the Editor | July 4, 2025

If you thought Philadelphia was responsible for the first national holiday — a celebration of this country’s independence on July 4 — you’d be partially correct. While it must have been a rush of exhilaration to be on the streets of William Penn’s Philadelphia as excerpts from the Declaration of Independence were read around the city, accompanied by celebratory gunfire, the Fourth of July would not be the first American holiday, nor the first call for a celebration of our unity.

One year earlier, the Continental Congress, convened at Independence Hall, declared July 20, 1775, as the first national holiday. The day called for unity through fasting and prayer in an effort to bring the colonies together. One month before, that same body would authorize the creation of America’s first fighting force. Over time, it was Independence Day — not July 20 — that would resonate with celebratory fashion through the centuries. But this summer, you can always celebrate two holidays. In fact, America’s oldest sports franchise, which has operated continuously since 1883, has played some 212 games on the Fourth of July. This year, the Phillies play today and on July 20.

Michael Thomas Leibrandt, Abington Township

This Independence Day, there is nothing to celebrate. America has lost its way. Our convicted criminal president continues to defile American values and principles. His Medicaid cuts will unconscionably deny health coverage to an estimated 12 million people in need so the absurdly wealthy can receive tax breaks. Universities and the free press are under constant attack from this deranged White House. Government agents are now creating reigns of terror, arresting and deporting migrants without due process. Medical research and clean energy initiatives are being curtailed. Elected Republican officials have chosen to stay in power rather than confront this insanity from a would-be king. And the U.S. Supreme Court no longer functions independently. All of this has come from a seditionist who orchestrated the 2020 attack on the U.S. Capitol and then, incredibly, pardoned the perpetrators. This Independence Day is a time to mourn the demise of our democracy.

Joseph Batory, Philadelphia

It’s good to take stock of things as July Fourth arrives. Our country fought for its freedom from tyranny from the very start, and many times since. A relative who served in two wars — wounded in both — once said they fought so that we could disagree. Some of his views were controversial, but we were always able to disagree with respect. I celebrate that memory and the service of others in our families. Now we have a president who wants to arrest and deport people who protest. A president who wants to tell colleges what they can or can’t say.

Immigration agents lay in wait at malls, courts, schools — bringing fear to many people who have lived good lives here, escaping tyranny and violence as any of us would try to do. Now we send deportees to the prisons of their former homeland, the administration openly working with the dictators. Our rich country is somehow no longer able to help desperate families overseas from starvation and disease. Support for a democratic Ukraine, attacked and ravaged by its neighboring dictator, is now withheld. It’s still a proud Fourth of July, but not for the inhumane and antidemocratic forces at work.

Bob Gold, Philadelphia

On the same day that a columnist lamented about President Donald Trump dragging the United States into the Israel-Iran war, The Inquirer Editorial Board called Trump feckless and reckless for his decision to use air strikes to destroy the nuclear weapon capability of a terroristic regime. Neither of these stances was even close to reality. Calling Trump feckless is ironic since his predecessor created much of this mess through his policy of appeasement and inactivity toward Iran. Joe Biden allowed Iran to sponsor proxy terror groups to wreak havoc throughout the Middle East and failed to respond to attacks on our military from these same groups. The U.S. did not enter the war, and the air strikes were key to bringing about the ceasefire. Trump’s decisive actions were not feckless or reckless. No acknowledgment has appeared on the Opinion pages since. It is time for The Inquirer to do the responsible thing. Stop criticizing Trump’s every move and give him credit when deserved. You owe it to your readers.

Mark Fenstemaker, Warminster

It took 52 days for Adolf Hitler to establish the first concentration camp after he was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933. It took Donald Trump 163 days between his inauguration and the establishment of a concentration camp for migrants in the Florida Everglades. In The Inquirer’s July 2 edition, a Page A3 headline reprinted a joke about migrants running away from alligators that Trump made while touring the camp. I wonder if German papers reprinted jokes that Hitler made about the opening of Dachau.

James Landers, Abington

The University of Pennsylvania caved to Donald Trump’s demands and banned transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. The university had to issue apologies to female athletes in the school who lost to Lia Thomas, and give them awards where indicated. One thing is for sure: The administrators at Penn are not politically savvy. They are dealing with a president who acts like Tony Soprano. Once he sees a weak spot, he won’t stop and will demand more from Penn, such as firing faculty, dropping courses, and gaining control of the school. He smells blood in the water.

Trump has used federal grants as a cudgel to get Penn to cave without any due process. The worst polluters in the country, for example, are entitled to a day in court and might end up paying a fine at most. It became evident that Penn had a blind spot for the witch hunt conducted by Elise Stefanik in her attacks on Penn’s so-called refusal to stop antisemitism on campus. The university president, who was forced to resign, tried to answer complex questions about free speech vs. conduct. She walked right into Stefanik’s trap, which was performative politics. Penn should have taken Benjamin Franklin’s advice. It would be better to hang together than separately, which it assuredly will.

George Magakis Jr., Norristown

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