I am becoming increasingly frustrated and aggravated with Citrus folks telling me to move back up north if I don't like the conservative Republican nature of the county.
My wife and I moved here 10 years ago. We moved from a deep blue state with excellent social services, a responsible government, and an exceptional education system. Our roads were well kept, and if you had a child with special needs, there were various ways for him to achieve his best. Yes, our taxes were higher than in Florida, but we received excellent services for those taxes.
So why did we move to Florida? In two words, the weather. We were too old to shovel the driveway. We were tired of dressing in layers. We were tired of keeping a winter emergency kit in our car. We won't talk about driving on the ice or snowy roads. It got to be too much as we get older.
When we moved to Florida, we had no idea about Florida's politics. In Letters to the Editor, writers claimed people moved to Florida because of our politics. Surveys say the principal reasons people move to Florida are the weather, our beaches, our low cost of living, and no taxes.
Politics is nowhere in the top 10 reasons people move to Florida. But surveys also say our toxic politics are reasons to leave Florida.
Now that I am a Florida citizen, I want to improve my new home state.
The Florida and United States constitutions enshrined my right to protest (or write letters) about what I feel is wrong, and I think a lot is wrong since DeSantis became governor.
I have no issue with an opposition party that is rational and logical. The present Republican party is everything but. The MAGA movement has usurped it.
Instead of worrying about roads, insurance, ocean rise, and population growth, Florida installs an election police force and a state Army under the governor's control. We hire airplanes to fly immigrants around the county. We change election laws to hinder Democrats, brown and Black folks from voting. We pick fights with the largest employer in Central Florida and end up in court over cultural issues; drag queens, abortion, book banning, teaching black history, and dealing with race. Give us a break!
I will continue expressing my feelings with Letters to the Editor and will not be moving.
Thomas Mitchell
Inverness