Preserving freedom

Originally published January 7, 2021

It has been a while since I’ve written a post in my blog, but today I must speak out. I am shocked and appalled by what happened yesterday. I have never been a fan of President Trump but never imagined that a person whom the people of America chose to be our leader would ever incite the kind of violence that played out yesterday by a mob of his angry supporters. I am also shocked at how easy it appeared for them to breach the security of our nation’s capitol. Those scenes that I saw on TV felt surreal, and it was difficult to believe that it was happening in our country.

But today is a new day, and we all must now face the question: Where does our country go from here? I am encouraged by the fact that the democratic process was upheld in the end. Many of those who previously supported the President in spite of himself decided last night that enough was enough and put country over party. I hope that the next few weeks results in justice served for those who threatened the rest of us and that the new administration will work together in a way that will strengthen, not erode, the principles that the founding fathers put in place exactly for times like these. Without those principles, I would fear greatly for the future of our democracy. Because of them, I know we will survive.

May we, as citizens of the great experiment of democracy, prove to the world that we will never continue to grant power or give respect to any individual who seeks it for personal gain or to satisfy his own pride rather than as a means to provide for and protect the values for which this nation stands. Aaron.