The world is not going to hell in a handbasket. Not even the orange one in the White House has that much power, though he seems to think he does.

By and large, the “mobs” roaming the streets (and those at the intersection of Highway 40 and CR5 in Fraser) are registered voters demanding that attention be paid to demonstrable racial inequity in this country. The first line responders, health care workers and store clerks wearing masks are pointing out that there is a nasty lethal virus floating in the air.

The lowered carbon in the air and cleaner water in tourist areas like Venice in these past four months demonstrate that cutting human-generated emissions can impact the cleanliness of our water and air. And too, alas, the disgraceful exploitation of the distribution of COVID19 testing and its cost shows that there are always people willing to profit from disasters.

I encourage Grand County residents to listen and learn, to vote, to donate money to the causes they feel strongly about — church, ACLU, NAACP, land conservation, PPFA, others … And also to monitor our elected officials, let them know you’re watching, and to keep on keeping on.

— Susan Newcomer, Chair of Grand County Democratic Party