Yes, our Christmas Tree still gleams in our living room and out to our friends and neighbors in our East Wheeling neighborhood.
Quit laughing. It’s not because we’re lazy. In fact, it’s very much on purpose, thank you very much.
The outdoor lights were changed out a couple of weeks ago, and the rest of the interior decorations have been stashed away until November 1st, 2024, but the tree – and its twinkle – has remained. Now, it’s likely my bride will dismantle it this afternoon during the NFL games, and for me anyway, the process will tweak some sadness.
The holiday season really is a special time of year in the Upper Ohio Valley because of the parades, the nutcrackers, the neighborhood decorations, Oglebay’s Festival of Lights, and holiday school shows, but also because most of us drop our edge. We’re a little nicer to each other, we smile more, we donate toys for children, and we sing.
But now with filing deadlines passed, the 2024 election season has arrived, and our edge, as expected, has returned in support of candidates we believe best for our future. What’s most unfortunate, though, is the division that will come with the campaign season because that’s been the mode of operation the past several cycles.
Republicans like Republicans and Democrats like Democrats. And that’s it. If a Republican dares even speak with a Democrat, he or she is deemed a RINO (Republican in name only). If a Democrat talks with a Republican, he or she is accused of dealing with the devil.
And when Republican leaders in West Virginia voted this weekend to close primary elections to GOP members only beginning in 2026 – alienating nearly 300,000 independent or non-affiliated voters in the Mountain State – the divide between The People sadly grew wider.
I happen to be one of those right-leaning Independent voters who has voted for former President Donald Trump twice and will again this year, but now I’ll be silenced because of my refusal to be a member of one of the two major political parties? What a bad “If you’re not with us, you’re against us” look for the state’s GOP.
So, will this misguided change convince me to assign myself an “R” or a “D”?
Nope.
Why am I an Independent?
Well, because I believe anyone can have a great idea – even a member of the super under-majority of the West Virginia Legislature – and there are 120 men and women in Charleston right now who might want to realize it, too.
Amen to that Steve!
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