To The Editor

Our social pendulum has swung from the conservative 1920s to the 1960s, the heyday of individual rights, and now, in the 2020s, back toward more conservative, collective, institutional rights — back from the rule by the many toward rule by the few.

Like it or not, we are now subject to the rule of a single person. Yet so few people actually take the trouble to vote that it’s impossible to tell what we really want. We only know what a few want. As it is, we have one plurality vying with another over the votes of fair-weather voters and the disinterested. That’s neither productive nor satisfying — and we wind up being ruled rather than being governed.

Frankly, I favor a government by the people rather than government by a person. The former is steadier and more reliable — less subject to the whims of an individual and more likely to reflect our common needs and desires. I’d rather a system that doesn’t tell us want we can’t do to a system that restricts the Government’s ability to tell us what we can and cannot do.

Our political leaders contend for the polar extremes. Rather than allowing them to dictate our form of government, we can take that choice back from them. Voting is a right and a privilege. Go vote if you care about our future — if you really care about our ability to govern ourselves. I’m voting for government by the people — I’m voting Democratic.

Don Mitchell

Newtown