In the past, when I heard the term Old Faithful, I recalled visits to Yellowstone Park where we would gather to watch the hourly eruptions of a beautiful natural fountain. It was called Old Faithful because you could depend on it showing off every hour, as it has been for hundreds of years. But today, the term Old Faithful immediately makes me think of all those, mostly elderly citizens turning out every Saturday on Lincoln Square in Gettysburg for a one-hour demonstration of their faith in our democracy and their determination to save it. We “old faithfuls” are doing our best to show the younger generations that many of us old folks truly do care about their futures.
Our democracy is the oldest surviving one in the world. Unfortunately, it is once again being threatened from within, and we, the faithful, must do what we can to keep it. As has happened throughout our history, many otherwise good people are being lied to and deceived by our current national leaders. It happens. But we faithful forgive those good people and beg them to come join us now – while it is not too late – and help us save our democracy. We especially need the younger generations to see that we need their help to make a better future for them and their children. We need them to understand that many of us Old Folks have been fighting our whole lives to give them a better future. But we, the young and the old, must come together and reject the authoritarian measures being imposed on our country today.
So, if you are old like me, please keep the faith and believe in the younger folks who are following in our footsteps to make their future even better. And if you are of the younger generations, please don’t give up – you ARE the future – and understand that many of us are still fighting for you. My hero, President John Kennedy once said, “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans”. He also included the well-known line, “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country”. Right now, you can join us, young and old, on the square every Saturday at noon to demonstrate our faith in American democracy.
My name is Warren Steen, of Gettysburg, PA. I am a retired former Civil Servant and Fed Government Contractor. I have lived in Adams County for 24 years.