Dear editor at the Daily Mining Gazette:

It is said that the darkest hour is just before the dawn.  Could this be the dawning of the Age of Aquarius?  Could we live to see the Second Coming?  Might the United States be part of the solution? Can democracy work? Of course! And we have everything we need to bring peace with justice to this world.  Each and every one of us can play a part in this transformation. All we have to do is trust the healing power and beauty of nature that surrounds and infuses us, and to care enough to act with courage. 

I think we Americans have succumbed to the age-old love of money.  We have acted as though our most important freedom is to acquire and hold onto wealth.  Now we are seeing how wealth can destroy democracy. Like the prodigal son, we had to go far down the wrong path before we realized our mistake. But check out the rest of the story (Luke 15:11-32.) How many tales of the unhappiness of super-rich people do we have to hear before we learn?

I am in the final chapter of my life on earth, and before I make the Big Leap I want to contribute something of value to this world that has given so much to me. I am grateful for the freedom to express myself in this newspaper, and for the freedom to gather with others to try to elect people who believe in the rule of law and who are responsive to my concerns. I rejoice in the students and faculty who have come here from other nations to study and teach, for they have taught me that there is great energy and joy in diversity.

How I loved being a teenager, singing Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin” to my parents: “Get out of the new road if you can’t lend a hand.” The world was not ready for the New Age we “flower children” wanted to see sixty years ago. Communication is the key, and with so many different ways to connect, now everyone can be involved. If America is truly the home of the brave, we will use our blessings of freedom, curiosity and imagination to welcome strangers, share the wealth, care for each other, and care for our planet.

Carolyn Peterson

Houghton