The undercurrent and over actions we are witnessing is not the Democratic Party of my father.
Dad, a life-long democrat, was warm, gentle, had a great sense of humor and was a believer in hard work, completing the job and the enforcement of discipline.
He married for the first time when he was 50 years of age.
Mom was a widow with five kids, and I was the youngest.
President Harry S. Truman had recently performed the incredible task of leading America through some of its darkest hours. He was in office only a few days before he was informed about the Manhattan Project. With thousands of Americans being killed in the Pacific (including my biological father) and facing hundreds of thousands of more casualties if America invaded the Japanese mainland, Truman (a Democrat) made the call. America would drop “the bomb” on Hiroshima.
Without question, it was Truman’s boldest and most difficult decision of his tenure.
Truman served as President from 1945 to 1953 and was the first President since Abraham Lincoln to advance the cause of civil rights for African Americans.
Dad introduced me to politics for the first time as we listened together on the radio, tuned to the 1952 Democratic Convention.
It was the first nomination of Adlai Stevenson, Governor of Illinois as the democratic selection as the Democratic candidate to succeed Truman.
As history has many unique ways of change and transition, Stevenson was defeated by General Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and again in 1956.
However, once again, America was moved to change. In 1960, a young, fresh, feisty, affable John F. Kennedy revived the Democratic dream.
Kennedy was known simply as JFK. His personality was infectious, and his resolve unshakable. The well known “cold war” aroused world thinking and raised American esteem.
Kennedy didn’t back down. He stood up! He spoke up! He rose up, and in turn, raised up America.
Perhaps his unwillingness to back down against Russia during the “Cuba missile crisis” catapulted Kennedy into the spotlight as one of our most brilliant statesmen and U.S. Presidents.
These are some of the Democrats I grew up with. Leaders that were tough, thoughtful, forceful, compassionate, with respect for personal rights and values.
Today’s Democrat mayors and governors have abandoned civil rights, property rights, and constitutional rights.
To allow one store to be burned, looted, and defaced without providing one ounce of resistance is a slap in the face to all Americans.
These are not the Democrats that we have revered, honored, and respected for decades.
Limp lipped excuses permitting tyranny is an affront to the senses of every American, man, woman, and child. Peaceful protest is powerful and pragmatic. Allowing anarchy is anathema to be abhorred. Where are my Dad’s democrats?
Best article I have read today and gives me hope. I have been a Democrat most of my life due to the value the party had given to civil rights, personal liberties and freedoms; ideals that America has stood for. Today’s democrat party officials have embraced totalitarianism for political power. If the party continues to cater to the fringe groups it will cease to exist.
don’t forget the current CA Democrat initiatives, including reducing penalties for adults who lure same-sex kids into sex abuse (SB 145); and removing the equal protection clause of the California constitution (Prop 16.) Those are some interesting priorities for our state. I’ve voted Democrat since I started voting at age 18, but I won’t be doing it again for the foreseeable future.
Bending over by Democrats to the ridiculous requests of relatively very small number of the socialists and anarchists forgetting the principals on which this country was founded and become great, forgetting the best periods of the American history (one of them fight to end the slavery), the great achievements in democracy and economy, just to please the momentum popular movement to achieve the temporary political goals is pushing the country to more division and hard working people out of Democratic party.
As far as I’m concerned, the Democratic party no longer exists; it has become the progressive party.