Jenifer’s Shelter Island Journal: Legacy
This column was supposed to have compensated for my not finding a local-enough “No Kings” march in which to participate this past weekend. I’d decided that I’d have to grow a set and prepare to travel a distance to the next one, if necessary, because — in case you haven’t noticed — it appears that our democracy is being dismantled right before our eyes. Or my eyes, anyway.
Free speech is becoming an actionable offense; some American citizens, and others who are here legally, are being swept up in often violent raids by armed masked men; whole swaths of our nation’s history are ending up on the cutting room floor; books are being banned; states are being deformed by radical gerrymandering; and the streets of some of our most storied cities are being patrolled by soldiers in combat gear.
Taking some kind of action, by all of us, is becoming, more and more, an imperative.
Let me stop myself right there. Per usual, probably because I’m a hermit, I’m always late to the party — in the unlikely event that I even know about it. Here I was, planning to exhort you, my fellow … oldsters, to make a sign, slip into your Skechers, talk to your neighbor with the offensive campaign sign stuck in their front yard, whatever, but just get out there and do something to help save democracy, because — whatever your party — this democracy is, suddenly and scarily, in need of saving.
I was so smug, planning to direct the “message” of this little column primarily to the 65-plus crowd — specifically my overgrown brother and sister babies in the Boomer ranks. But guess who ended up last minute this past Saturday going to the Easthampton No Kings demonstration after all? Me. And who learned a thing or two in the process? Me.
There was quite a crowd. A thousand or 1,500 — maybe more — and, I don’t know, perhaps 80% were, in fact, if you’ll pardon the expression, “old.” I’ve done some research since — turns out that rural or semi-rural areas in this country tend to have more seniors, while urban areas are demographically younger. But, I’ll tell you, it was kind of uncanny being in the midst of such a multitude of sign-carrying, slogan-chanting, crazy-hat-wearing, not-to-be-ignored demonstrators most of whom were Boomers and beyond. According to Tony Hicks, a staff writer for the Local News Matters section of The Bay City News ([email protected]), “Seniors have been out in force this year. During June’s 14’s “No Kings” protest in Walnut Creek, where police estimated there were 4,000 peaceful protesters, I saw more older people concentrated in one place than I’ve seen anywhere in my life. They marched (some with walkers, others being pushed in wheelchairs), they sang, they chanted and, best of all, they made their presence known. It doesn’t matter which side of the political divide older people occupy. Being out and being involved is the key. Seniors protest with their feet — and their votes. According to AARP, voter turnout among people 65 and older has been higher than other age groups since the 1980s and ’90s. The turnout gap between that group and others has only grown since. The demographic also feels a deeper sense of civic involvement, even down to who works the polls during elections. AARP said most poll workers are older adults. According to AARP, voter turnout among people 65 and older has been higher than other age groups since the1990s, and the gap continues to widen. In the 2022 general election, nearly six in 10 U.S. poll workers were 61 and older and more than a quarter were over 70 years old, according to a report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. It’s also a generation of Americans that became politically active in the 1960s and ’70s, when the country experienced political turbulence and change. Now, with the issues affecting them making constant headlines — like Medicare, Social Security, and prescription drug prices — don’t expect the level of involvement to change during next year’s midterm election or the general election two years later.”
I’m turning 79 in six weeks, in flirting distance of 80, and the youngest Boomers are turning 65 this year — a behemoth of a generation that has grown old, if not up, in the shadow of nuclear war, television, Vietnam, assassinations, Watergate, sex, drugs and rock and roll, etc.
But, although we may have lost sight of our passion and our principles, and witnessed the cancer of hypocrisy eating away at our democracy, we remember that we once put our ideals into action by demonstrating, joining the Peace Corps, making our voices heard and, with our legacy for our children and grandchildren now at risk, we’re joining the front lines of democracy again. That’s something to be proud of.
