TheWiseOldFart

I remember Republicans. As a 78-year-old lifelong Independent voter, I was offered a choice when I went to the polls. I admit that most of the time the Democratic candidate received my vote. The policies of most Republicans were too regressive, and my beliefs are more progressive. Change is always necessary, but sometimes change moves an entire nation in the wrong direction. Sadly, the once Grand Old Party took its final breath on the morning of January 20, 2017. It is an undeniable fact that between 2017 and 2021, the backwards policies of the Trump administration destroyed many of the accomplishments made over the previous 60-70 years. Hate crimes rose by 800 percent as Blacks, Hispanics, non-Christians, the LGBTQ community, and women in general were verbally and physically assaulted as your president continued to use rhetoric focused on fear, anger, and hatred. He encouraged violence in his name and his supporters eagerly responded. Domestic terrorism became the greatest threat to t...

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Raised by a single mother in the 1950s and 60s, I was fortunate to have been very close and partially raised by my maternal grandparents. They were grandchildren of a Prussian grandfather, who came to this country at the beginning of the 20 th century, and the grandmother he met in America. Of the many things I learned from them, compassion, kindness, and understanding were the most important and remained with me throughout my life. What they couldn’t teach me were the underlying evils which existed then, and have become the norm in the 21 st century. These evils moved out of the shadows and escalated between 2017 and 2021 when an illegitimate president won the Electoral College, and became to leader of the Neo-Nazi movement in America. He and his party, once known as Republicans, combined with the mainstream media, continue to spread lies with the use of tactics including anger, hatred, and violence. At this very moment, somewhere in our ...