Finds passion for democracy came with age

I have been on this earth a while now. I’m older than I’d like to be. My brain and body often feel at cross purposes — one improves steadily while the other declines almost as fast.

I do have time now to reflect, though. I lived through JFK’s assassination, Bloody Sunday, The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, the 60’s in general, Viet Nam, Watergate. Momentous times. But I didn’t then have the life experience or historical perspective to put all that in proper context. I tuned in more than average for my age, but that’s not saying much.

Time and age season the mind.

For comparison, a few events of the past week:

1. The number of Covid-19 deaths in the United States surpassed 175,000;

2. The Democratic party officially nominated Kamala Harris as first Black VP candidate;

3. Republican-led Senate Intelligence committee release final report reveal extensive interaction between the Trump campaign and Russia during 2016, including ties to Russian intelligence unit, GRU;

4. The Democratic party completed the first-ever virtual national convention, officially nominating former Vice-president, Joe Biden;

5. Steve Bannon was at least the 6th Trump campaign official or presidential advisor to be arrested;

6. Former RNC chair and first chief of staff in the Trump White House, Reince Priebus, said, in an interview with Gayle King on “CBS This Morning,” that voters elected Trump in 2016 and, “he crushed the way that things used to be.”

I found Priebus’ comment in #6 — which he portrayed as a good thing — the most arresting.

That is what has happened, though. And I feel its bone-chilling weight in places I didn’t even know I had. Plenty of improving yet to be done, yes, but no wrecking ball required!

With age can come late epiphanies, too, it seems. My realization is this: that I will fight for this great, beautiful, flawed democratic experiment like you wouldn’t believe, this passion my only weapon. And I will fight and fight and fight for it until I have nothing left to fight with! Until there’s no fighting left to be done. Until we either defend this democracy successfully against the threat of a second Trump term or until it is too late and all is lost.

I know that now so deeply, so viscerally, that words are of little use.

But I know it.

Thank you, President Trump.

Paul Mack

Columbus

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.