It never occurred to us that our right of free speech might be questioned

Americans over 80 have lived through more than a third of our nation's 250-year history. We asked them why this moment feels different. Virginia, 85, is one of those elders. Here's what she has to say.

My name is Virginia Fulton, and I’m 85 years old, so I’ve been around for more than a third of American history. My ancestors were refugees from Ireland at the time of the Great Hunger. They weren’t exactly welcomed by people who were already here, but it was a given that they had a right to stay. Those ancestors became fiercely proud to be American, and so I was proud, too.  

Most of my life I’ve protested for important causes—to save the environment, to end the arms race. It never occurred to us that our right of free speech might be questioned, nor did we fear retribution. If we failed to win a fight we knew that good might prevail at the next election, so we got out the vote.  

But things are decidedly different now. It had not occurred to me that a leader could thumb his nose at the Supreme Court and the Constitution and singlehandedly change the rules. Now the President is maneuvering to get rid of elections—to “nationalize them,” is what he says, but everyone knows what he means. 

Things are so bad out there that even a lot of people—some of them my age—who once loved the President are turning against him. Let’s find ways to join that wave and help get him out of there. That’s now our job.