Back in the old days

Remember, back in the old days, when you either liked the president, or you didn’t? Sadly, it seems, those days are gone.

I’m pretty old, so I’ve seen a lot of presidents come and go. I stayed up past midnight in 1960, hoping that JFK would win. Just four years later, I was rooting for Barry Goldwater. Times and opinions change.

I really liked the Reagan years, and we built a prosperous business during those optimistic times. I kind of liked both Bush administrations, but wasn’t crazy about the Clinton and Obama years.

The mood of the country and opinions seem to have changed during the Obama administration. Like or don’t like seemed to be transformed to love or hate. I’m sure that there are a lot of factors that contributed to that but, for the first time, if you happened to disagree with the president or the administration, you were a racist.

I support President Trump and look forward to voting for his re-election. I don’t approve of everything that he says or does, and his tweets just drive me crazy.

That aside, it’s hard to deny that the country, and our people, are better off than we have been for a long time. Not just rich people, but people at every level and regardless of ethnicity. Prior to the pandemic, our economy had grown to levels not seen before. The total number of people in the workforce was unprecedented, and unemployment lower than I can ever remember.

I’d like to think that we could return to “like or dislike” from our current “love or hate.” I’m not optimistic, though.

In Thursday’s letters, Roger Webb writes, “Respectful disagreement no longer seems appropriate.” What’s next, Roger? GORDON GONDEK Little Rock