Sept. 15, 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette: A while back I was asked to provide my concerns as a veteran for my country. What follows is a summation of that response: I swore to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, which I did for 23 years. I am appalled that in the exercise of our right to freely speak, some have chosen to express themselves with profanity and a lack of respect for the points of view of others. We no longer discuss but harangue and lying seems to have replaced baseball as our national pastime.
I am concerned with the degradation of family values, the decline of our education systems, the turning away from religion, a proclivity for mob rule and disregard for history and customs of our past.
Should these trends continue without moderation, I fear for the future of my country, which I, and many, many others, vigorously defended.
CRAIG CAMPBELL, Retired U.S. Navy captain Lexington
