Putnam isn’t Overrun By Mobs, it Has an Engaged Electorate
I am writing today to express more sadness and disappointment in the leadership of Putnam County. At a recent Back the Blue rally held on the steps of the county courthouse, a speaker, who spoke at length while clutching a Trump flag, painted a very dark picture of Putnam: radical leftist mobs destroying our county, attacking old women and comparing Democrats to radical communists.
She continued by attacking a member of our community who has mental health issues; she bragged about shaming him on Facebook while fully admitting he has his own struggles with mental health. She ended her speech claiming that she and all those in attendance are “Trump’s military.”
What’s worse is that she said all of this as our county legislature’s chairwoman. Toni Addonizio stood front and center cheering these radical, fearmongering and, in many ways, false words. Would Chairwoman Addonizio consider herself a member of “Trump’s military?”
I get deeply concerned when we speak of militarizing our citizens against each other based on what party they support. I want it known the speaker is entitled to her opinion, as I am mine. I could not agree with her less, but the First Amendment grants her the right to this opinion.
I do, however, judge local elected officials cheering on the idea of “Trump’s military” while listening to this vision of our county that is not true. I look around and I don’t see a horde of “leftists” destroying property. Flames from Molotov cocktails don’t light our night skies as chaos reigns. I have seen, however, young people becoming more motivated to vote and engage in their own democracy, people asking questions and expecting better of our public officials. I see people engaging at every level of government, and to me there is nothing more American than that.
We should be proud we have people wanting to be civically engaged, we should be proud that we have people out there fighting for human rights in this county and people who want to get involved. That is what America is meant to be; we should always strive to be “more perfect” in our union, “that shining city on the hill.”
Don’t give into to all this fearmongering and hate speech. This county and country are better than this. We need representatives in government who know that and don’t stay silent in the face of hate and fearmongering.
Finally, the speaker and I do agree on one thing: vote! People have died and have given so much to earn that right for all of us, so vote! Help a friend get to the polls, work the polls, volunteer with a local campaign and yes even run for office – all of which make our county and country better.
Zach Disador
Southeast
