Patriarchs Of Paralysis

Editor, Times-Union:
Born and raised in Chicago, I learned a great deal about politics. My father was a staunch conservative and Republican, however, my mother was a Democrat. You only knew there was a major problem with this paradox when elections rolled around and even then it was civil disagreement. The Republicans were long associated with conservative spending and smaller government, the Democrats with increased spending and larger government, the same positions they both held since Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. However, there was a drastic separation that occurred in the 1960s. There was a time when both agreed on law and order but not so much anymore.
It was 1968 and the Democrat National Convention was taking place in Chicago. The sixties were filled with turmoil, protest of the Vietnam war and race riots. The primary characters in this social revolution were far-left Marxist who fomented college students’ hatred for their government, the military industrial complex and the men and women who risked their lives obeying their orders. It wasn’t that they opposed sending our military to fight the war, it was the fact that we were fighting Communist China. As far as the 1968 convention riots are concerned, then-Mayor Daley unleashed an overwhelming police presence who handed out wooden shampoos to the rioters who refused to disperse ... where did Democrats like Daley go?
Fast forward to today and Chicago has defunded their police, George Soros has instilled one of his DAs, they’ve imposed cashless bail and crime has overwhelmed the once-great city. The Marxist decedents have graduated from their chosen colleges and now make up the leadership of this not-so-fair city. Unfortunately, Chicago is not an anomaly as most every large city in the country has suffered a similar fate. Why are cities like Chicago losing their populations to states like Florida, Tennessee and Texas? Why are the quality of life issues so different between Red and Blue states?
I know for a fact that Chicago has been under Democrat control for over 75 years and you would find the same case in many of the other Blue cities. These cities are stagnate, they are taxed to death, regulated to death and underpoliced to their literal death. Of the 1.5 million registered voters in Chicago, only about 500,000 turned out in the last mayorial election. The only word that comes to mind is apathy and apathy leads to social paralysis. The voters don’t vote anymore because their vote just doesn’t matter. Like many blue cities, they have adopted a system which ranks the candidates and the top two candidates campaign for the office. The past two mayoral elections in Chicago were between two Democrats ... take your pick!
Gerald Roach
Warsaw