“The ‘Dark Ages,’” as defined on Wikipedia, “is a term for the Early Middle Ages or Middle Ages in Western Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, characterizing it as marked by economic, intellectual and cultural decline.”
I am a baby boomer. After WWII, I grew up with faith and optimism that America could do anything; and, in many ways, we accomplished miracles!
I have watched the country I adored struggle mightily through my lifetime on many issues — civil rights, women’s and reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and education — and I truly believed that we were becoming a more enlightened, albeit imperfect, society.
But, with the election of our former narcissistic, language-deficient POTUS who emphasizes fear and hate of the other over compassion, and his political party gone awry, we have landed in a very dangerous place.
The conspiracy-driven uninformed electorate is pushing anti-science, anti-intelligence and individual rights (ha!) vs. collective justice for all while making up their own facts along the way. Our most basic institutions of government, public education and free press are being completely undermined.
The Supreme Court of the United States has become a political tool of the far right. And there is utter nastiness over respect and decorum in our language and behavior in the political realm. Therefore, it is painfully obvious to me that this era in American history will go down as the Dark Ages of American history. I have almost lost hope in the country and people that I have loved and which have shaped my life positively in so many ways. I am heartbroken!
Darlene Thayne, Bountiful
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