Attending the Camden Conference is a “winter splurge,” and we always learn from the experience. This year I had one significant takeaway that I thought worth sharing. 

Suzy Hansen, a journalist and author, who was based in Turkey for over a decade, mentioned being surprised when she interviewed Turkish residents, asking: Knowing what you know now (after experiencing President Erdogan’s increasingly repressive autocracy), what do you wish you had done in the beginning of his presidency? She expected them to say that they wished they had protested his actions earlier and more vehemently. Instead, unanimously, they said they wished they had put effort into transforming the opposition party, which could have then mounted an intensive campaign to unseat Erdogan.

This struck me as an important message for those wishing to unseat our current president as he disobeys laws, exploits the presidency for his own personal gain (now estimated in the billions of dollars) and the gains of his many billionaire friends, cuts funds for medical research, destroys relationships with our allies and attempts to put total power into presidential hands.

Our efforts should not only be to protest this president and ensure safe elections, they should also be directed toward change in the Democratic Party — a return to its roots. It is time for new, young leadership willing to take on a system that, in both parties, favors the rich and concentrates power in the hands of a few.

Sally Grassi
Camden