Mailbag: Republican National Convention offers view of the darkside

Is it just me, or did day one of the Republican Convention remind you of the first “Star Wars” movie?

We start with the Rebel Alliance (the Never Trump folks attempting to break away). After a voice vote that sounded like Darth Vader declares the Empire still in control, squashes the Rebels and turns the charade over to “Duck Dynasty’s” Willie Robertson, who would be more at home in the Mos Eisley Cantina.

He rambles on about how the Emperor has your back and then introduces another Cantina character, from some happier days, Scott Baio.

All of this nonsense is just prep work for a rant by Governor Tarkin, a.k.a Rudy Giuliani, about the threat to the Empire from all things alien. Just when your jaw can fall no lower, enter Princess Melania, an alien herself, rescued from supermodel obscurity by the Emperor.

She innocently delivers a speech, written by the Emperor’s lackeys, which produces howls of protest from fans of Luke, Han and Obi Wan. The evening wraps up with an appearance by the emperor, who using the darkside of the Force, whips an audience of Stormtrooper Clones into a hysterical frenzy of devotion to anything “Emperor” no matter how dark, dangerous, or ridiculous it sounds.

Mike Buettell
Balboa Island

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Democracy requires active participation

I truly appreciated Dr. Steve Davidson’s wise cautionary comments in the July 7 Daily Pilot Forum on the corrosive effects of rampant negativism in Britain and the United States.. Mass-market media are guilty of monetizing sensationalism and partisan ranting.

Balanced, nonpartisan, sincere and thoughtful commentary is available, but we citizens must accept our responsibility to more thoroughly check our sources. The founders of our country never expected democracy to survive without constant tending. There is no place for slackers in a government “of the people, for the people and by the people.”

I do feel compelled to respond to Dr. Davidson’s comment on authority. Democracy cannot survive without a healthy skepticism of authority. Authority must always be subject to the consent of the governed. One might modify his words to read, “How can we govern ourselves if everyone is defiant?”

Thus democracy requires we citizens to listen to one another, cooperate and compromise to remain unified. Dr. Davidson is to be applauded for restoring compromise to its rightful station as the lubricant of civility and democracy.

Daniel L. Sims
Lido Isle