Democrats have come to a fork in the road
To the Editor:
The Democratic Party is in a pickle. Concocted by Democrats long departed, their present dilemma has been 60 years in the making and it is this: many rank-and-file Democrats today are uncertain that Joe Biden (because of his age and perhaps other factors) can weather the taxing responsibilities of the presidency for another full term.
Adding to their anxiety is the prospect of a Kamala Harris administration. I recall the doubts and misgivings when Biden (fulfilling his promise to choose a woman as his running mate) chose Harris.
Hindsight (as we know) is 20/20. May I opine, this is what happens when you substitute race and gender for such attributes as ability, qualifications, competence, aptitude, etc.
Six decades ago (I was active-duty Navy then) Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity were introduced across the land. Liberal thinkers of the time believed that discriminatory practices could be corrected, and the playing fields levelled, by providing special conditions (advantages) for women and minorities.
In the process of “opening doors of opportunity” for some but not all people, one important factor got overlooked: you cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong, at least not without paying a heavy price.
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We have witnessed, over decades and several generations, the dumbing down of America, the loss of expertise, the lowering of standards throughout our institutions: education, parenting, production, things that were once considered the backbone of America no longer work, due in part to advancing less qualified men and women and passing over more qualified men and women, in the pursuit of the elusive precept of “equality.”
To the Democratic Party I must submit, you are reaping only what you have sown. As expressed so well in an old Portuguese Proverb, “the fruit of the tree of errors.” The chickens of inclusion and diversity, I am afraid, are coming home to roost.
However, all is not lost. The Republican Party (a.k.a. the “Trump Cult”) has made its choice, raw power over governing, and at any cost, and nothing shy of an act of God can deter them.
That leaves the fate of our country in the hands of the only real political party left, the Democratic Party. You must make a better choice. It’s time for a leap of faith. I well recall John F. Kennedy’s well-chosen words in 1961: “The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans …”
Mr. President, it’s time to pass the torch again. Please consider choosing a different running mate for your second term, someone from a generation younger than ours, someone with a fresh, lively vision for the future but capable of tackling the agonizing problems of the present. We must not surrender this beautiful land our fathers bequeathed us, or our nation’s future, or the fate of democracy itself, to men who lie, threaten and defraud.
Were it my choice to make (given our present circumstances), I would name Hakeem Jeffries (six-term Congressman from New York) as my running mate. He has shown an extraordinary ability to think on his feet, he is especially well-spoken, articulates complicated matters in simple, understandable terms and he projects the characteristics of a true statesman.
We have arrived at a fork in the road, Mr. President, and as Yogi Berra was wont to say, we should “take it.”
David L. Snell
Franklin
