To the editor:
Conservatives are being quiet right now. There are very few of us who will put our toes right on the line, and most of us don’t dare cross it. That line is not anything nefarious, but it is being defined by the left and most of the media as a punishable offense. I am talking about our First Amendment freedom to disagree.
Many people lately refer to books written by George Orwell. In his book "1984," he makes the following statement, “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
We are, indeed, having our liberty taken away every day by a tyrannical part of our culture that holds us in check by saying, “If you make any statement we don’t agree with we will take everything from you.” Conservatives’ behavior on social media shows the message was received loud and clear. One wrong… I mean, disagreeable… statement, even if it is irrefutable truth, could result in losing a job or having your business boycotted. We do not even dare to check the little box to agree or disagree with a post. After all, we have others depending on our income. Our First Amendment rights are being held hostage with the threat of losing our jobs now.
We hear some voices out there saying, “It is time to stand up and fight back!” We do not know how to do that. The opposite of rioting is peace.
As I look back over this article, I see that I have broken one of the rules of good writing. I have overused the word “we.” However, I will not change it, because it bolsters my point. You are not alone, my quiet, conservative friends. We are all still here. We are growing in number with each burned business and toppled statue.
We all know what happened in 2016. We were quiet. We did not answer polls. We voted. We shocked the world.
Fast forward to today. We are being quiet. We definitely will not answer poll questions now. We do not trust the media. We know President Trump was the first president in our lifetime to follow through on his promises.
Keep the faith. We are the silent majority. We will have our turn in November. I believe we will shock the world once again.
Dennis Cole
Greenfield
