A return to civility and respect?

A couple years back I was walking down a hospital corridor in Rhinebeck wearing a well-used ball cap featuring an American flag logo when a passing woman sarcastically remarked “Make America great again?” I fixed my gaze upon her and replied  “Madam, America has always been great but there’s always room for improvement”.

God  forbid I had wearing a red ‘Make America Great Again’ cap. She possibly could have labeled me a white supremacist racist or worse.

Where has civility, tolerance, manners, patriotism and respect gone these days? A difference of opinion could tag me as racist, phobic, brain washed or another convoluted degrading adjective or trigger violent reaction by some disturbed , insecure or politically radical individual.

Thankfully these individuals are in the minority although political radicals are recently influencing political decisions that affect us all. Example: Prematurely drastically cutting fossil fuel production and delivery and draining the strategic petroleum supply, reserved for dire emergency, has led to out of control  inflation. The future could promise quantity economically affordable alternatives but we’re no way near yet.

Presently nuclear is the only clean energy alternative but no one wants those plants in their backyard. So we continue to buy communist China-controlled equipment and batteries to power our electrical obsession, which increases global pollution since China has no pollution standards.

Since we still depend on oil, we buy our needs from our enemies and not-so-friendly allies at 3 to 4 times the price per barrel compared to 3 years ago, and we pay twice the price at the pump.

Our current electrical infrastructure cannot handle a small percentage of the green demand expected of it. Expect record brown- and blackouts. We need competent political leaders with common sense, with concern for our national and personal security, and an appreciation of American values, the rule of law, and defenders of our Constitution.

America will always remain great, requiring occasional adjustments and repair, and there’s always room for improvement.

God bless you patriotic readers and your families. Enjoy the rest of your summer in company with   family and friends. Til next time.

Town of North East resident Larry Conklin is a Vietnam veteran and a member of both the Millerton American Legion Post 178 and the VFW Post 6851 in North Canaan, Conn.