Editor;
Lately, it seems life in this country resembles a game we played as kids, the one where we manipulated two controls in order to balance a tilting surface and keep steel balls – which in this example I’m going to suggest is us – from falling through holes drilled in the tipping board.
Our goal, of course, was to steer the little balls through the numbered, tilted maze to the center of the board for a win, squealing when the balls rolled closer and closer to the holes or we survived the plunge and made it through to the center.
Now, as we navigate 21st Century lives and a tilted board with bigger and bigger holes we fight for control as other fingers seek control of the game board. Our board seems slanted against us, fixed against meaningful progress, and other players report attempts to roll back advances on their boards, as well – and we are left to wonder who these new players may be, and what they want.
And the short answer to that question is: they want power and control over others. And that’s why I intend to exercise what little power I have as a citizen to regain control of my board.
What’s happening in our country is neither fair nor American. And what they are doing is making me really, really angry.
Sincerely,
Anne Marie Cullen/ Walnut Creek
Tilt A Board!!!! Used to play that for hours.
Me too. Good letter. See you at the polls.
We have a lot of work to do.
Vote like your life depended on it.
Vote like your country depended on it. Because it does.
Playin for power. No power, no “freedom”.
I know who I’m against, who I don’t trust and who I don’t want to see leading the country in any way. We’ll see how many other people feel the same way soon.
I’m actually shocked by this letter and the responses. Strip out the game metaphor and what you have is someone arguing for control for the sake of control. The Democrats have control over all parts of government right now, and we have inflation at 40 year highs, open borders, massive numbers of homeless, rising crime, threats of nuclear war on two fronts, and the Orwellian installation of a Ministry of Truth. I’d say the Democrats are in full control of the board and the result is not pleasant. Same at the state level where it is literally impossible to blame conservatives for anything under this several decade one party control. How’s that working out?
Hey Lamorinda Voter- What about those states that are completely controlled by Republicans? Are you saying they are models of democracy? This is an interesting article from Vox about a comprehensive study they did about which party fares better governing. https://www.vox.com/2021/4/5/22358325/study-republican-control-state-government-bad-for-democracy
If states are in a warm climate, they are also being affected by homelessness. Mass shootings happen in most every state, even where concealed carry is permitted. Crime is up everywhere. Not sure about your comment about “open borders”. That feels like a GOP talking point with little substance. If you know what the term means, then you know we don’t have open borders.
I think Government works best when there is representation from both parties working towards solutions for everyone–no matter their color or status in life. Unfortunately, it was McConnell who said that he would not work with Obama, and therein lies the problem. If the minority party at the time doesn’t have input to the process, then you get skewed results. If only us average citizens could put pressure on our representatives to work together, then maybe we will get somewhere. What a concept!
Cee: You may find this disappointing, but I absolutely agree with you on the big picture. Each election has a winner who treats the result as if they just won their high school football game and the trophy. They then try to shift everything to the far right or far left, completely ignoring that they are supposed to represent all of their citizens and not just the winners. As you mention (I don’t remember it, but I will believe you), McConnell acted like that, just like Biden said he would unite the country, and almost immediately also announced he would spend his first weekend reversing all executive orders from Trump that he could. Both sides are guilty, and both sides seem to thrive in creating division while we suffer. I am convinced, for example, that the medical care mess could be solved if they worked together, but instead each side moved to polar opposite solutions and seem to benefit from the conflict, and again we are the collateral damage.
We are also being played in my opinion. For example, that UW study you mention lists the inability of being able to register to vote the day before the election as evidence of lack of democracy. The alphabet media has taken this up as a serious cause, but I think it is baloney. If one of my kids did not bother to try to register until the day before the election, I hope they don’t vote because they clearly do not care enough and most probably put zero effort into understanding the issues. I think it’s a red herring. Back to the main point, we clearly disagree on many details, but I believe we both agree that majority control should not mean authoritarian control and all voices should be heard.
Lamorinda Voter- I would not be disappointed at all that we agree. That’s exactly my point. Even if we do disagree on specific policy, it seems we both would be interested in finding a workable solution. We are lost in the middle of extremes on both sides because they scream the loudest and it’s hard to be heard over it all. I wasn’t using the McConnell situation to be partisan. It was all over the news at the time because Obama wanted to work with the GOP, but they had their own agenda. It was disappointing because we all had hope that things could change. I don’t see that Biden’s reversal of Trump’s executive orders is an indication that he doesn’t want to work with the GOP. Executive orders usually follow each particular party’s partisan policy and are not hammered out for compromise. Did Trump reverse any of Obama’s executive orders? Obama reverse Bush? etc. At this point, I think things are unlikely to change either way since there’s such distrust on both sides, unless the middle comes together. Your calm and thoughtful response gives me hope.
Its taking control of an airplane in rapid descent and in danger of crashing. It may require more clear thinking and vision than this country is currently able to conjure, but I’m hoping for the best.
Do you guys give endorsements? Sheriff? DA?
Vote. Let’s settle this thing.