Editor:

  After reading letters to the editor about Indivisible Idyllwild, I wondered what would happen if the group’s organizers invited Trump, Clinton and Sanders supporters, as well as independents and third-party voters, to participate in a public dialogue identifying issues of greatest concern to Hill residents. Perhaps common ground would be discovered, especially around economic interests.

I am concerned that Americans have been divided and nearly conquered by a system of corporate tyranny. I don’t use this expression lightly. The GOP is not the only party dominated by corporate interests.

In 2008, Barack Obama posed as a candidate who would bring “hope and change” to a country devastated by the junk-mortgage crisis. Had voters investigated his campaign funding sources, they would have noted that top contributions came from the very Wall Street banks that defrauded the economy: Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley.

Democrats might recall that their party had taken control of the White House, Senate and Congress in 2009. Yet, we saw none of the financial reforms necessary to turn around the economy for the majority of Americans. Ninety-five percent of the country’s population is worse off in terms of real income than they were eight years ago. Forty-seven percent of the country’s families can barely meet their children’s needs. In the wealthiest nation on Earth, 21 percent of children live in poverty. Yet not a single bankster has been prosecuted, and Wall Street’s biggest banks are more powerful than ever. How low do we need to sink before we work out our differences and take a stand?

Party politics are tribal. Clinton/Obama Democrats don’t seem to reflect on their party’s contribution to rampant wealth inequality any more than Trump supporters admit that the billionaire’s cabinet picks contradict his campaign promise to “drain the swamp.” The “Good vs. Evil” blame game isn’t serving our interests.

Idyllwild Indivisible could turn into a unifying and powerful grassroots movement, but the name is not yet an accurate one. I’ve been helping organize the environmental wing, and most members are troubled by allegations that the group might be a divisive force in our big-hearted community.

Many understand that our country’s challenges run much deeper than Trump. We don’t all need to agree on everything. Let’s overcome party allegiances and get down to the real business of better understanding the issues and how we might address them.

Mark Yardas

Idyllwild

1 COMMENT

  1. When and where do you meet? Do the majority of your followers look favorably upon Bernie Sanders and his political ideas? What are your positions on gun control, abortion, and same-sex marriage? Do you lean toward the Left? Do you get people to attend meetings out of curiosity? I just have many questions. I hope this is okay.