By Mary Jane Perraut

Like Warren Buffett, in 2009, I was still using a flip phone. My co-workers made fun of me especially as they showed off the latest iPhone. It really struck me that times had changed when I was waiting to board a train at Union Station to New York. There was dead silence. I looked around and all passengers waiting in line were on their phones, isolated in their own worlds. Technology had changed society.

Then, the pandemic isolated us even more. Whatever was in our own cyber space became “truth.” We lost the power of healthy debate with each other. We lost critical thinking because the information being fed to us via algorithms was believed to be honest and factual. The questioning of our positions seems to be guarded at all costs as if to protect our self-worth and inner souls.

We hear constantly that our democracy is being threatened by one political party or the other. The real threat to democracy is immorality. I’m not referring to anything other than honesty. How can we bring back in depth and factual reporting? How can we start listening and politely discussing current events and issues? This is the real threat to our democracy. One step might be to take out our ear plugs, enjoy nature, and say “hello” to our neighbors. It’s a start. Our country’s founders had long intelligent and well-informed debates. If we don’t start talking to one another again, we will lose our democracy.

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Mary Jane Perraut is a member of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee.