General Discussion

…because I had not known this side of him before.

Rick toured us through the former Fascist and Nazi parts of Europe. He gave what amounted to a seminar on the rise of those movements and governments, the wooing of part of the populace and the terrorizing of the rest, how long it took before Hitler and Mussolini attained their ultimate power. The various monuments in Germany today, some subtle, call out “Remember. Remember what was done in our names”

Even then, he was talking not just to us, but about us. He’s deeply grounded.

PS: I’m one of the people who remembers when Democrats and Republicans could have a reasonable discussion, when the House and the Senate actually could reach a compromise and keep the government running, when there was a fundamental agreement about the value of public education, taking care of our veterans, paving the roads…

Nixon was toxic as hell (and I cheered when he choppered away from the White House) but he seemed far away from the concerns the rest of us agreed on. It took a long time to realize that he was only the opening act of powers that turned out to be closely allied in their efforts to divide us past healing and to bring down all of America’s progress of the 20th century.

But — and this is part of the actual heartbreak a lot of us Boomers are experiencing — we actually remember a time before Newt Gingrich and his ilk when government could work, before the GOP sold its very soul convincing Americans that the federal government was broken and worthless and set about making it so.

All us old DUers (some are already well over 80, but I am merely going to be 78 this year) worked through much of our lives trying to make our country and world better — but we were at heart optimists and could not see the scope of the evil, the sheer depth and breadth, of the aligned powers arrayed against us.

See you on the hustings.