Editor, Times-Union:
I can handle disparaging remarks thrown my way. I can ignore some names I’ve been called. As I have said often, everyone has a right to their own opinions. However, using words like “brown shirt … nazi … gestapo” to describe me is beyond the pale. I have never knowingly written or submitted anything that is not true — and can be proven — not by some social media clown or dictator wannabe, but by respected historians, constitutional experts, revered judges, and truth proponents from every political party, religion, and profession.
Anyone who takes the word of one man and his kiss-ups, one man who proclaims the whole country is out to get him, one man who is a whining, lying sociopath, needs to wake up and rejoin the human race. Anyone who is not aware of the plans/promises of that one man (check out the latest Time magazine interview) and the team already assembled to take control of all of us is not paying attention. Read “Project 2025” online if you dare. You think you are safe being his lap dog? Ha!
He may win you over by addressing your personal biases, promising to get revenge on those you believe have wronged you or whom you just don’t like because they are different. What happens when someone doesn’t like you for whatever reason — tattles on that critical remark you thought no one heard? Revisit some history books to see what happened in Germany, in Russia, in North Korea, in Hungary. You think that can’t happen here? Did you not pay attention in your U.S. history class? Your senior government class?
I prefer to live in a country where the leaders continually strive to make my life freer and better — not take away freedoms I’ve enjoyed my whole life. I prefer leaders who do not continually try to convince me they know what is best for me, what information I deserve to know, what religion, if any, I must hold above all others, and which people are not worthy of freedom and respect. I prefer leaders who tend to the business of the country …. not my personal business — or their own personal lust for power.
If you think the current administration is controlling your life, you have no idea what control is. If you think Trump and his MAGA cultists have your best interests at heart, think again. You have been duped, scammed, not just by them but by their billionaire donors who control them — and you. Who do you really think controls the prices you pay for goods, while lining their own pockets with exorbitant profits? Check out the price hikes of Kraft-Heinz, Procter & Gamble, Kroger, Auto Zone, Hostess, and others …. to increase their already record earnings.
Truth matters … search for it. Common sense matters … use it. History matters … read it. Democracy matters … vote for those who really believe it and not those who deny its existence and plan to destroy it. Finally, check the definitions of “brown shirt” or “gestapo.” You won’t see my picture there.
Jeanne Tuka Schutz
Winona Lake, via email