.jpg)
June 10, 2024 Editor, The News-Gazette: “The most important election in our lifetime.” This phrase, or something close to it, has been repeated frequently the last few presidential election cycles, almost to the point of losing any impact. If it has ever been true, however, I believe it applies to the coming election this November.
Assuming Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump are their respective parties’ nominees (not at all definite at this time), there are two sharply contrasting “roads” presented to us.
I, like many of us, am not overly enthusiastic about either one. But one road, Mr. Biden’s, is the one most likely to continue us on the messy experiment in democracy we’ve been traveling the last 235 years.
The other, Mr. Trump’s, portends a dark and more frightening path, reminiscent of past repressive (and worse) regimes. Mr. Trump, and his supporters, throw around terms/notions such as “dictator on day one,” rejection of a losing election result, retribution against opponents/ enemies, violence, etc.
Back when Trump was first running in 2016, I asked a wise friend of mine what he thought of Trump. He shook his head and simply said, “He’s a bad man.” So much of what Trump has said and done since then has borne out that sentiment.
None of us knows exactly what the future holds, regardless of how things appear now. But we do have to make informed choices based on the information we have, and, hopefully, on what we’ve learned from history. Complacency and apathy are not options. Having said this, I respectfully offer that Joe Biden, with all his blemishes, is the best choice, and the safest choice for our democracy, this fall.
ROBERT “BUCKY” JOYCE Lexington
