My husband and I recently attended the Camden Conference.  This is a “winter splurge” for us and we always learn from the experience.  This year I had one significant takeaway (in the very complex topic of the Middle East) that I thought worth sharing. 

This takeaway came from Suzy Hansen a journalist and author who was based in Turkey for over a decade. She mentioned being surprised when she interviewed many 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, across the board, they said they wished they had put their efforts into transforming the opposition party, which could have then mounted an intensive campaign to unseat Erdogan.  

This struck me as an important message for all of us who wish to unseat our current President as he disobeys the 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 needed medical research, destroys many of our relationships with our allies, and attempts to put more and more power into Presidential hands.  

Our efforts should not only be to protest this President and do everything we can to 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, even on the democratic side, favors the rich and concentrates power in the hands of a few.  

Sally Grassi lives in Camden