×

Need to unite

To the editor:

It seems finally that the era of the worst U.S. president in modern history has come to an end. This was a test run bent on undermining and invalidating the very democratic principles that we hold dear for the sake of corporate power and the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the few.

The Republicans pushed every legal (and illegal) limit in an attempt to “win” this race. Voter suppression and intimidation, legal challenges to fair and secure elections, and the spread of propaganda and misinformation unlike nothing seen in modern history. If there is doubt about this, one only needs to observe that when they weren’t hearing what they wanted on Fox News, they turned to NewsMax and Parler.

Many of us don’t recognize friends and family members who have fallen victim to the extreme efforts made by conservative media to poison the conservative electorate for the sake of Republican fundraising and political subterfuge.

Democrats have long fancied themselves the people’s party, yet the poor and suffering in the cities and rural areas don’t feel heard. They don’t feel heard when corporatists are placed in cabinet positions, nor when in one breath Biden says “trust scientists” and the next breath he assures us that he will not ban fracking.

They don’t feel heard when Democrats attack progressives for moving too far left, without acknowledging that every Democratic incumbent who ran on Medicare for All – during a global pandemic – is returning to the House of Representatives. While some of their more centrist counterparts lost resulting in a weaker hold on the House.

Democrats need to honor this moment – this is not the time for a victory lap. This is the time to dig deep into our hearts and elevate the oppressed among us. Not only in communities of color, but in poor rural communities who have been swindled out of their futures by oil and mining companies, and factory farms and manufacturers who’ve gone overseas and sheltered their money offshore.

We are all suffering a climate crisis that is creating rising seas, drought and increasing severe weather that disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable. 

Racism is real, and it is deplorable and despicable. The calculated use of race as a knife to divide the classes has cut our country to its core. We can’t remain divided. Democrats need to find the courage to recognize the values of progressivism. Pursuing good paying jobs, quality healthcare and access to education isn’t a liberal conspiracy. It’s the American Dream. Given the wealth of this nation it is easily within our grasp and the only thing that can unite us.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today