I received an email after one of my newsletters came out. The email was from a subscriber and read:
“Fascism has now been imposed in America, a genocide has likely killed more than 100,00 people in Gaza, Israel is engaged in its 78th year of land theft….and this is only the beginning. The topics in your blog are the last things I care about. Please remove me from your list.”
She complained that what I was writing about was superficial. However, my blog analytics show that my audience is most interested in topics like fashion and beauty. Several years ago, I attempted to write about my political opinions but received nasty responses. I deleted those posts and decided to keep them out of the mix.
The truth is, I agree with that subscriber. I don’t like the way things are going in the world. It’s insane. This puts me in a conundrum. Should I risk expressing myself and how I feel, or keep silent and focus on less controversial content?
Sick of biased news? Ground News will show you what leans right or left so you can be factually informed. Another fun option is Morning Brew – news with a sense of humor delivered to your inbox.
Honestly, I don’t want to stay silent. I think that has been the problem all along. People are not paying attention. They are going about their lives, avoiding controversy. In the interest of that former subscriber and any others who feel the same way, I want to get a few things off my chest.
Here is what I really think
First, I understand you might disagree with me. The political atmosphere these days is extremely divisive, and many of us have strong opinions. When I rant, I do it mostly on Threads. It’s a safe place for me, and I need a place to vent.
I kept quiet for the last four years because a few relatives would get pissed off on Facebook. They post about cats and other light stuff and would prefer I do the same.
I don’t care if you are a Republican or Democrat, but what I really believe in is preserving integrity, compassion, and adherence to the law. The Constitution is the Constitution, and when it is being ridden roughshod, we need to speak out and stop it, no matter what party we are affiliated with.
Our harsh reality
The citizens of the United States elected a 34-time convicted criminal as President in 2024. If a candidate is a convicted felon, they should be prohibited from running for office. He was indicted for many other crimes, but his money and influence exonerated him. He was also impeached twice.
You may say, “Well, the Democrats politicized the justice system to charge him with the crimes, but the fact is, all of the witnesses in the January 6th investigations were Republican, except for 2 black election workers whose lives he ruined. The defense and prosecution during his trials handpicked the jurors, and they convicted him of his crimes.
The current President has gutted federal agencies and fired thousands and thousands of qualified workers. Those people had families, mortgages, and pensions. The administration took a chainsaw and fired air traffic controllers, public health officials, veterans, IRS officials, CIA, FBI, and others without researching whether or not they were needed. It was random. His list of crimes since he was re-elected to office continues to grow.
If you elect a felon as President, expect an endless crime spree.
Meanwhile, Republicans stand there like robots and bow to the King, no matter how heinous his executive orders are. Democrats are much too wishy-washy. What we need is someone aggressive enough to make changes for the good of people without pussy-footing around. And that starts with prohibiting billionaires from buying elections, and not letting convicted felons be elected to the highest office in the land EVER!
The biggest horror, in my opinion
Brown faces are being rounded up like dogs with no due process and put on airplanes to foreign countries. Children, including infants and toddlers, are being held in horrid conditions in detention camps along with pregnant women, the elderly, and those with chronic illnesses. This is sickening, cruel, and as un-American as it can get.
This treatment is not making America safer. It is making it much more dangerous!
The media is being censored and soon will be like Russia
When a President can get comedians fired from TV or can destroy a show like 60 Minutes, there should be major cause for alarm. There are very few news outlets that can be trusted anymore because they are all being taken over by billionaires who are cronies of our corrupt President.
Independent journalists, many of whom were purged by mainstream networks, are being threatened with violence by the administration.
Too many people are CLUELESS about what is happening.
I won’t even go into the destruction of the White House East Room, putting his ugly mug on buildings, and painting the reflecting pond swimming pool blue.
He brags about ending many wars, but he started some of them. It’s like an arsonist taking credit for putting out fires. I was never a fan of the Iranian regime, but our intervention in Iran has put us in a worse position than we were before, and our President is incapable of making a deal to solve it.
BE INFORMED and quit listening to “state-run media.”
Search on YouTube for independent pundits like Liz Oyer, former pardon attorney for the Justice Department, Aaron Parnes, Heather Cox Richardson, The Meidas Touch, The Bulwark, and several others instead. They are not afraid to tell the truth.
There, I said it
I hope any of my readers who share the same opinion as the reader above who unsubscribed now know my stance on politics. However, I will continue to focus on blogging about fashion, beauty, travel, and positive aging, because we all need positivity these days.
Follow me on Threads @rebeccaforstadt, where I let loose about how I really feel and block the crazies in droves.
Do you think the content on BabyBoomster.com is superficial, based on the current political environment? If you don’t, please subscribe to post updates every Wednesday here. Leave a comment. I ask that you don’t get nasty because I will delete your comment. I own this blog and can do whatever I like with it. I choose to keep it civil.
Great writing. It’s challenging as a blogger to pick out your “lane” then stick to it. As a journalist who has worked for newspapers, it’s clear. You have news articles, which are reports on what’s happening, you have your editorial section or page with editorial opinions from separate staff members and op-eds written by guests, and you have columns where writers offer their opinions. As a consumer and personal finance journalist, I write mostly about consumer issues. However, I do occasionally write an opinion piece.
Thanks, Rita. I love how you broke down how news is published. I consider my blog to be more of the lifestyle section and want to appeal to most women over 50. But, it’s hard to keep quiet when our rights that we fought for in the 70s and way of life are being whittled away.
I agree 100 percent. Wholeheartedly. This is the time to stand up.
It is. I prefer to do it elsewhere but we must.
Oh Rebecca, you sum it up so well. We’re going through hell right now, but a light at the end of the tunnel will appear. I have to believe that. I also agree with not making the blog political. I will sometimes hint at how I feel politically. Anyone who reads it can surmise. That’s as close as I want to go.
I completely understand, Laurie. Your blog has such wonderful insights into your life. And the news is fleeting. It gets forgotten the next day when the next crisis hits.