Dear editor,
I read with sadness the letter to the editor from A Concerned Republican. I am a lifelong Democrat who voted in my first election in 1972. I have voted for a handful of Republicans over the years who I felt were the best candidates but have stayed true to my party and its positions.
The Register has reported on my effort to present “It Can’t Happen Here — Again,” a reading warning of the rise of authoritarianism in America and the need to take a stand for democracy.
Several people have told me how brave I am for putting on such a reading. When asked whether they would attend, I was told no because of the same fear expressed by A Concerned Republican: a backlash against them and their businesses.
I don’t consider myself brave. I am expressing and acting on my beliefs, opinions and principles. Isn’t that what is guaranteed under the Declaration of Independence and the First Amendment of the Constitution? One shouldn’t have to be brave to think differently. One shouldn’t have to be brave to question the truthfulness of statements made by candidates for office. One shouldn’t have to be brave to ask candidates to be civil, to not engage in bullying and name-calling.
One shouldn’t have to be brave to:
• Demand control over our bodies and reproductive rights;
• Want to keep our children safe from gun violence by enacting reasonable gun control measures;
• Oppose banning books and the censorship of media
• Resist efforts to “edit” history by not teaching students about slavery, the treatment of Native Americans, and the internment of American citizens during World War II;
• Refuse to blame every problem on “illegal immigrants”;
• Oppose the idea that the United States is a “Christian nation”;
• Be a public servant (which I was for my entire career) trying to help my fellow citizens;
• Question a U.S. Supreme Court decision that grants immunity to a president, whether Republican or Democrat, for almost all “official acts”;
• Call out any candidate who threatens to use the military, the FBI, the IRS, or other federal agencies against his or her political opponents or other American citizens who speak out against a public official or public policy;
