In January, we raised the American flag upside down—not in disrespect, but in unmistakable distress. A nation signaling danger, adrift in a world we once helped shape. As February 2026 dawns, that distress signal is no longer a metaphor. It is our reality.
For the first time in more than six decades, the United States has chosen not to lead.
This decision was not made in a single speech or headline. It was made piece by piece throughout 2025 — through budget cuts, dismantled programs, overlooked alliances, and a retreat that has reshaped how the world perceives us. For the first time in more than sixty years, the United States has chosen not to lead the world. We have abandoned our allies in words, deeds and funds. We have abandoned the poor, hungry, sick and needed at home and abroad. We are now officially sick as a nation.
The Slow Retreat Begins
In 2025, “America First” became the watchword of policymakers who vowed to reshape federal priorities. What was sold as economic and governmental efficiency quickly became something far more damaging — a retreat from global engagement.
The creation of the Department of Government Efficiency — colloquially known as DOGE — was pitched as a streamlined evolution of government. But its first act was to slash what once made American leadership effective: foreign aid, development programs, and the institutions that projected U.S. influence without guns or armies.
Most notably, USAID, America’s oldest and most trusted foreign assistance arm, saw drastic reductions. Programs that fed starving families, vaccinated children, and supported education programs in fragile regions were cut or canceled outright. Emergency food shipments scheduled for famine zones were canceled. Medical teams were sent home. Development projects that sustained agriculture and water programs for rural families in Africa and Asia were defunded.
At home, similar cuts hurt our own communities — food assistance, disaster preparedness programs, and basic public health services that protect vulnerable families were weakened. Families in Fort Bend County and across Texas felt these impacts directly, as local resources struggled to meet demand. These weren’t abstract decisions. They were choices that changed lives.
Global Power Doesn’t Wait
Leaving aid programs and diplomacy behind didn’t make the world safer — it invited others to fill the vacuum.
When the United States stepped back from feeding children in famine-stricken regions, other nations stepped in with their own agendas. When U.S. diplomacy slowed, authoritarian governments filled the diplomatic space. Trade agreements Americans once led are now negotiated without us. Security arrangements that once bound allies together are fraying. A world that once turned to Washington now looks elsewhere.
The Human Toll Is Real
Behind every policy cut is a human being.
When global nutrition programs were terminated, children went hungry. When family support programs were shuttered, parents struggled to feed their kids — abroad and here at home. The safety nets that once caught people when disaster struck were eroded, leaving everyday citizens more vulnerable.
In Fort Bend County, these are not just headlines. They are friends, neighbors, teachers, and parents. It’s our community that feels the shockwaves.
From Leader to Bully
For eighty years after World War II, the United States did something unprecedented in history: it built a system where stability, trade, human rights, and democracy were tied together. That system was not perfect, but it was better than the alternative. It kept great-power wars from erupting. It lifted billions out of poverty. It made American workers, companies, and communities more prosperous.
In 2025, we began to dismantle it.
Allies were told to fend for themselves. NATO funding was questioned. Trade partnerships were frozen. Foreign aid was portrayed not as an investment in global stability but as charity.
That misunderstanding is now costing us dearly.
Global markets are less stable. Supply chains are more vulnerable. U.S. exports face new barriers. Military tensions are rising in Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. American influence is shrinking.
We recently agreed to attack our friends, buy countries, abandon everyone and choose to be with many who are called the evil doers. We know the real heart and soul of America is still savable. We did not lose leadership. We walked away from it.
America’s retreat is most evident not in what we say, but in what we don’t do.
Leadership isn’t charity. It’s influence. It’s the ability to shape the world around you without resorting to conflict. It’s being at the table, not outside it. When we abandon long-standing global commitments — humanitarian, diplomatic, economic — we aren’t cutting costs. We are cutting our future.
A world without American engagement doesn’t become peaceful. It becomes unpredictable.
We Urge You to Vote
No matter how you vote — Democrat, Republican, independent, or otherwise — your participation matters. Our democracy isn’t healthy because people like politics. It is healthy because people show up.
History has shown that strong turnout isn’t just good for democracy — it is democracy. When citizens vote, leaders listen. When citizens stay home, the consequences are felt not just in policy debates, but in global power vacuums and lives at risk.
This is not a normal moment. It is a defining moment.
We urge every eligible voter in Fort Bend County: make this the highest turnout in memory. Save our democracy not with rhetoric, but with action — with your ballot.
Thomas Mundy Peterson
Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, is claimed to be the first African American to vote in an election under the provisions of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The 15th Amendment, enacted in 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. You can be Mr. Peterson this year by honoring him with your vote.
The Future Depends on You
Raising the flag upside down was a call for help. Rising to vote is the answer.
We are a nation that once led the world by helping feed its people, healing its sick, and building bridges across borders. We can choose that future again. But only if we vote.
Your ballot is not just a choice. It is a statement. It is power. It is democracy in action.
Fort Bend County, this March — vote.
For your community. For your country. For our future.
