By Theresa Myers, Chairwoman, Western Cumberland County Republican Club
I don’t hear any Democrats complaining or questioning the U.S. Capital being under siege and occupied by heavily armed with assault-weapons National Guard troops. They are there to act like civilian riot police.
Orders are lethal force allowed – you are to shoot to kill your fellow civilian Americans if necessary. No stand down orders like in Portland or Seattle. That’s the reality.
I understand the military troops’ presence in the aftermath of the riot and through the inauguration, but now? Governor Wolf has sent Pennsylvania National Guard troops to assist and they are expected to be in D.C. through Mid-March, if not longer. Why?
The broadcasting that “intel” supported that the Sunday before Biden’s inauguration Republican rioters were going to descend and unleash chaos and violence at state capitals across the country, proved to be unfounded. The day came and went with little fanfare. The inauguration was celebrated and was uneventful.
I don’t like having the military guarding our U.S. Capital for months. I find the images and message it sends intimating, traumatizing, and terrorizing to my wellbeing. I feel less safe now that Biden is President than I did before.
I keep asking myself what is happening? Our country is going backward. Down a path, you might see in a poor, developing country led by a military dictator. No disagreement or dissent allowed or tolerated.
I defend both my enemies and my friends right to voice their views without retaliation (mob mentality, cancel culture) because I want that same right for myself. For those cheering or maybe even participating in silencing and hurting those whose views you do not like, remember it could one day be you or a loved one on the minority party’s side or out of favor with the powers in control.
Would you feel self-righteous and smug if you were the recipient of these attacks? Don’t be deceived in a delusion that it can’t happen to you or someone dear to you.
I would like to share two recent examples to illustrate this. The first is of Alexey Navalny, a popular Russian opposition leader who speaks out about corruption in the Russian government, who was almost certainly poisoned by the Russian government in August 2020 in an effort to silence him.
Alexey recovered from the nerve agent attack after being hospitalized for several months in Germany. Upon his recent return to Russia, he was immediately jailed because he is a threat. His words are a threat. Truth is a threat. His supporters are a threat.
One may say, I am too connected, rich, or important for that to happen to me or anyone in my family. For Jack Ma – one of the richest men in the world; a privileged member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP); and owner of Alibaba, a Chinese Amazon equivalent – that didn’t help him. He publicly said things not agreeable to the CCP and went missing from the public for two months.
Some even wondered if Ma had been murdered. However, within the last month Ma has been allowed to be seen publicly and his only statement was I am “adjusting to supervision.”
Dear fellow American, When I say I feel less safe, I feel less safe from the federal government. To the Leaders in D.C. that make the world go around, please pause and slow down. Do not exaggerate threats in order to justify or explain the over-the-top responses.
I am ending with two quotes and asking each of us to reflect on these.
“If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” President George Washington
“Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.” President Ronald Reagan.
If you don’t agree with me, if you have rage toward me because of what I believe, I don’t hate you or want to hurt you. I ask you on the other side to not have hate in your heart.
