Blair Hill pens the following letter in response to a recent letter regarding the two-party system.
To whom it may concern,
There are many things to unpack in Mr. Hegarty’s recent letter to the editor. He claims to discuss the current status of the two-party system, but points a lot of fingers about our nation’s dark history squarely at the Democratic Party. Since not one of us living today were alive pre-Civil War, I fail to see this as useful discourse. Regardless of party, we should all be mindful of shameful elements of our nation’s past and shed light onto them so that they cannot be repeated in the future. It’s also worth noting that under FDR’s leadership, the parties swapped platforms, so any statements about history pre-1936 are somewhat misleading. When there is so much misinformation and discord about, I hope everyone is doing their own research and forming their own, informed opinions about the state of our country in modern times, not in 1854.
When deciding where we fall politically today, I think it’s much more useful to look at how the parties currently operate. When I look at the Democratic Party, I may not agree with all party members about every issue, but I see a party that truly wants to improve daily life for the average person. I see a party that aims to make quality health care affordable for everyone. I see a party that acknowledges climate change and seeks ways to address the damage we’re causing. I see a party that recognizes the fact that we are a nation of immigrants and wants to find ways to humanely repair our broken immigration system.
I hesitate to make any generalizations about entire political parties, but I watch what is happening in our country under Republican leadership and I find it frightening and in many cases, cruel. There are stories daily about efforts to suppress voters’ rights, science and facts going wholly ignored, individuals mocked by our president, and efforts by Republican members of Congress to take away our Medicare and Social Security in the name of tax breaks for the wealthy. I could blame these things on Republicans, as Mr. Hegarty blames slavery on the Democrats, but if there’s to be change I think we have to accept responsibility collectively for the fact that this is happening in our country in our lifetime.
If there’s any hope of “making America Great again,” we should seek to support candidates that unite our country and respect and serve the interests of the many, not the few.
Sincerely,
Blair Hill
Chair, Harrison Township’s Democratic Committee
