Being no stranger to political debate, I am constantly irritated by the ceaseless drum-beat of vacuous partisan come-backs. Most often from the left – Rush Limbaugh this, “you right-wingers†– and the endless drone of repeated propaganda “talking pointsâ€Â.
Let me introduce myself. I am one of the forgotten people, lost in the haze of partisan self-interest. I was not always so unimportant. The Constitution on which the nation was founded was written for me. It was a promise of limiting the power of government to maintain my freedom. That purpose was further clarified in the first 10 Amendments to the document; setting out specific prohabitions against government intrusion. The right to be left alone – the demand for government to “do nothing†but stay away and mind its own limited legitimate business is among the most important.
In pursuit of freedom, many of my kind have fought and died, to found the nation defined by the document, to preserve it and defend it against “all enemies, foreign and domestic.â€Â
I am now quite often, primarily from the left, treated as if I should apologize for not immediately yielding to their plans. The elected president has even issued a threat of violence to silence me, calling those who believe in Constitutional rule “domestic terrorists.†But the right to speak openly in opposition to political plans is yet another of those specific fundamental rights promised to me, that my kind fought and died for while creating and maintaining the nation that the president now seeks to control. In my view, the Constitution is still the official law of the land, and the president is a criminal.
Among the partisans, the document has been forgotten, just as my identity. They have forgotten their place in my country, their oath and obligations as public servants. They want us all to forget the history of humanity and government, the human thirst for freedom, and most importantly ourselves. We are to be absorbed into their collective. They want to rule.
I am a citizen. I will not apologize for my opposition.
I am an American. I bow to no one.

