Left of the aisle

I was raised in Odessa, and conservative. I manned phone banks in Spokane for Nixon in ‘68. Now, 50 years later, I have a second worldview. I’ve had much more life experience, and am acutely aware of the anger you feel for those who question your long-held beliefs.

As children in Odessa, we knew the greatest generation had fought WWII, and we respected the flag in their honor. Unfortunately, we’ve had less popular wars like Vietnam. Coming home, the numbers of American flags waved or hugged didn’t matter much to me. Democracy (free speech), for which it stands, meant everything.

Allowing opini...