Carol Harrisville Young

Darth Vader is alive and well, and his real name is “Mitch”

I’ve been a registered Democrat since 1980. When I turned 18, my suffragette Grandmother told me that women fought hard for the vote, so she pointed her finger at me and said, ” You better vote.” I’ve taken her advice to heart, and have voted religiously ever since. However, I can’t help but feel that politics…

Native American Heritage Day: Time for action, not just platitudes

November is Native American Heritage Month, and it was established to recognize Native Americans as the first people of this continent and to celebrate their cultural heritage and contributions to our nation. Back in 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Native American Heritage Day Resolution bill, designating the Friday after Thanksgiving as “Native American Heritage Day.” He is quoted as saying: “It is…

Face it, progressives are the future of the Democratic party

Shortly after the election, the former Republican governor of Ohio, John Kasich, commented on Biden’s win, stating “the Democrats have to make it clear to the far left that they almost cost him the election.” Of all the Republicans who aligned themselves with the Democratic cause, Kasich, the anti-choice, anti-labor crony who lost the 2016 Republican presidential bid, is labeled as a…

America, you’ve been gaslighted.

The 1944 film Gaslight is based on Patrick Hamilton’s play, about a woman whose husband slowly manipulates her into believing that she is going batty. In the movie, Ingrid Bergman’s character Paula is constantly manipulated by her husband Gregory, played by Charles Boyer, and slowly she feels like she’s going insane. Gregory gradually isolates his wife from the outside world, claiming that it’s for her own…

“Clothe yourselves with compassion”

Words can’t express my relief and absolute joy after the presidential election results were officially called yesterday morning. The fact that people all over the world were dancing in the streets, shooting off fireworks and crying tears of relief and joy warmed my heart. We will have a Democratic president once again, and for the…

Democracy is on the line

“When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right” – Victor Hugo Two more days until the general election, two more days in which the future of our nation will be decided. As I write this, 92 million Americans have already cast their ballots, nearly twice the number in 2016, and it’s not even election day yet. Some states…

Not even all of “Neptune’s ocean.”

There is a line in Shakespeare’s MacBeth, where MacBeth returns to his wife, and out of guilt mourns his brutal murder of his trusted Captain Duncan. In the scene, MacBeth looks at his bloodied hands and says: “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” Unlike MacBeth, Trump has expressed no…

America, we have a serious oligarchy problem

We are just two weeks from perhaps the most important general election in our nation’s history, and I’m hoping beyond hope that we can salvage our failed democracy. Each day we are barraged with news of corruption in the White House, voter suppression, skyrocketing bonuses for corporate fat-cats, tax breaks for the 1%, the impending…

National Coming Out Day: Vote for LGBTQ+ Rights

Today, October 11 is Coming Out Day. Since 1988, LGBTQ Americans have celebrated sharing who they are with family, friends and colleagues on this day. In today’s climate, being openly LGBTQ+ is still fraught with discrimination, intolerance, and even violence. As the proud parent of a loving and gifted trans woman, I am absolutely appalled…

When they go low, we go vote!

This week has been quite the week. From Trump’s refusal to denounce white supremacism, and his incessant bullying and obnoxious interrupting of Biden during the debate Tuesday night, to the release of his tax returns, to Kimberly Guilfoyle’s sexual assault allegations while she worked for Fox, to the GOP pushing for a quick nomination of…