This past Sunday, most Americans turned their clocks back one hour, reflecting the end of Daylight Saving Time and the return of Standard Time.

Our days, at least the daylight component of our days, became shorter, and darkness came earlier than the day before. It’s always a grim reminder that Autumn is the season of death when leaves fall from trees and decay right before our eyes. All Saints Day is followed by All Souls Day, or the Day of the Dead, as some say.

I am not sure our leaders didn’t have that in mind when they chose the first Tuesday in November as America’s Election Day.

I don’t think our leaders of the past viewed Election Day as anything but a uniquely American lesson in Civics and Patriotism.

But that all changed in 2016.

In fact, the change began in 2008 When Barack Obama was elected President.

I remember seeing a bumper sticker on a pickup truck in a Long Island Rail Road parking lot proudly proclaiming the driver’s hatred and racism.

I won’t give it any life on my blog.

At the time, it proved to me that there were quite a few stupid and hateful people in our midst. I accepted that there were many good people who were in disagreement with the other party’s positions on taxes and federal spending, but it unnerved me to think that some hated the people more than the positions these people were espousing on these issues.

The sad thing is that it has gotten worse since 2016. Darkness has descended on America.

Even in 1972, the first Presidential Election for which I was eligible to vote, I chose George McGovern because he was the candidate of peace. Nixon was the candidate of war (although he would try to sell it as Peace With Honor), no one hated me for voting for McGovern, and I hated no one who voted for Nixon.

It hasn’t been the same since 2016.

The party of Eisenhauer, Nixon, and Reagan has cowered to Czar of Darkness. He is not worthy of your vote, and he has as much told you that for the last eight years.

There are dates that live in American Infamy. Of course, the first date so identified was by FDR the day after Pearl Harbor (read a history book if you don’t know what I’m talking about.) “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date that will live in infamy…”

November 22nd, 1963, was another date. Then came 911, and no year was required to recall what had happened on that date. Then came January 6th, the latest and only self-inflicted date of infamy, which was encouraged by the man who now continues to promote the great steal even before a ballot has been counted.

Hatred is his campaign, and lying is his modus operandi.

He hopes to bring eternal darkness to our democracy and kiss the ring of tyrants everywhere in the world.

I started thinking of St. John’s opening to his gospel, where he tells us of Christ:

Through Him was life,

and this life was the light of the human race;^c

 the light shines in the darkness,^d

and the darkness grasp was not.

If ever we needed The Light, it is now and in the coming months.

God Bless The United States Of America…while He still can.