The dark is rising. Anger, hate and violence are running rampant across the land. Hardly a day goes by without a mass shooting. Lies, half-truths and innuendoes all flow like water from a mountain spring. What can be done to stem the tide of ignorance and irrationality gripping the nation? Who will light a candle against the darkness?
American democracy is on the auction block. Did you ever think you would live to see the day when a president of the United States would assemble an unruly mob and direct them to the Capital in order to prevent the certification of an election? Few would have imagined such a thing. Yet here we are — running down and sentencing the worst of the storm-troopers. What a sorry state of affairs.
Whatever happened to the American dream of truth, justice and the democratic way? Somewhere along the way the country took a wrong turn. People bought into the delusional thinking of Donald Trump, the conspiracy theories of QAnon, and the big lie of a stolen election.
How are we going to get ourselves out of the mess we have created? An old proverb tells us that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. All the institutions of our society — government, corporate, media and education — will need to join forces to promote democratic values. Lighting a candle against the darkness may be the first step toward saving the nation.
Stanley Ivie
Richfield