Letter to the editor: Republicans taking us back to the past

In the past, I thought the Republican Party wanted to return to an idealized version of the 1950s and 1960s. Men were the breadwinners. A much lower number of women were employed outside the home. However, recently I have begun to realize that what the GOP really wants is to return to the 1600s, a time when Galileo was placed under house arrest because of his forward-thinking remarks.

Today, some threaten bodily harm to Dr. Anthony Fauci because he promotes what scientific knowledge dictates. A portion of our fellow citizens rail against getting vaccinated, even though doing so protects one’s life and the lives of those around them. They attach more credence to talk-show opinion than proven data.

Banning books has surfaced again. If you do an online search going back even six months ago, the volume of attention to certain categories of literature has increased dramatically. The struggles for justice and even the mention of our Founding Fathers’ ideas often evokes pushback. Reality can be painful, and some of our fellow citizens are not ready to accept the truth of the past. Ignorance and prejudice flourish when facts and knowledge are hidden from access.

As for government, the GOP seems to suggest that the middle class cannot be trusted to supply useful and credible solutions for government issues. They promote a system that best enables the privileged to thrive affecting all those who are not part of that group.

What path will you choose to protect our personal freedoms?

Katie Forsythe

North Huntingdon