To the Editor:

Just a note to let relatively new inhabitants know about the direction the village of Altamont has been going since 1961; at that time, this village had two doctors practicing out of their homes, an auto dealership, a Grand Union, and an A&P. It also had a bowling alley, two taverns, a hardware store, a drugstore, a shoe-repair, as well as a farm equipment dealer. It also had three auto service centers, a restaurant, and others too numerous to mention.

Let me ask a question: Does that tell you anything? Altamont is representative on a small scale, of what is happening to America today.

I don’t know to what extent politics play in the overall picture, but I do know this. I come from a family of dyed-in-the-wool Democrats with history back to FDR days. For those who are not familiar with the letters, FDR are the initials of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Those were the days when the party stood for something. Now it stands for nothing. That party was supposed to be the savior of the black race. Is it? The Democrats were God’s gift to the everything for nothing. I don’t want to stay on this political beat.

I’ve said before, in the past, that electorally speaking, Democrats and Republicans have become dumber than a box of rocks. We have become a nation of intellectual idiots who prefer entitlements at all levels rather than work.

This, of course, is not true of all Democrats or Republicans, but unfortunately it is true of too many. Let’s bring this tirade to a halt. I doubt very much if it influences anybody, but it did give me an opportunity to vent my frustrations.  Thanks

George Pratt

Altamont

Editor’s note: George Pratt is a retired Altamont police chief.