The “radical left” are actually neighbors, asking for peace

To the editor:

According to Trump, “The radical left has done tremendous damage to the country.”

Adds Stephen Miller, “There is a large and growing movement of leftwing terrorism in this country. It is well organized and funded…It is a vast domestic terror movement, With God as my witness, we are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy these networks and make America safe again for the American people.”

On Monday, October 6, I was one of ten people protesting the use of American soldiers against American citizens at the intersection of Route 33 and East State Street. Eight people held letters spelling “NO TROOPS,” one held a flag, and I took pictures. Are we members of the radical Left?

This question deserves closer examination. There were seven women of retirement age (one in a wheel chair), two old men (including me), and a relative youngster, a not-quite 50-year-old woman. All had paid their taxes, raised their families, and lived productive lives. At first glance, we don’t seem that dangerous.

But I must admit we are pretty well organized. The women make sure the signs are carefully designed and crafted, communications within the group are very well coordinated, and the pictures are posted on Facebook and Substack. We are also part of a larger network of similar groups championing democracy. Furthermore, at the group’s secret cabals, radical topics are planned and discussed, such as preserving free speech, defending science, prosecuting pedophiles, and safeguarding American freedoms. Is that insurrection?

Perhaps Messrs. Trump and Miller are right to be afraid of a bunch of old folks. Well, maybe not the two guys. But the women, that’s another matter altogether. Those matriarchs of democracy are the Nancy Pelosi types—you know, women who confront wrongs, tell the truth, and stand up for what’s right. Send in the troops.

True, true, true, I am being disingenuous. I know very well that I am describing friends and neighbors, people we know wouldn’t hurt anybody (even though they are from a liberal hotbed like Athens, Ohio)—all for the pleasure of ridiculing leaders who would quell senior citizen dissent with the world’s most formidable military.

To be fair, there may be other protestors, not at all like us. After all, Messrs. Trump and Miller cast a pretty wide net when vilifying the radical left. According to Miller, “The Democrat (sic) Party is not a political party. It is a domestic extremist organization.” Surely, in a group as large as the Democratic Party, there must be somebody, somewhere whose behavior would justify the activation of the Insurrection Act. Miller simply has to find and motivate them.

In the end, however, I think Trump and Miller’s characterization of the radical left is too narrow. They are referring to something far larger than the Democratic Party. What they really mean is anyone who dares disagree with them. Their Republican brethren understand that. That’s why they don’t disagree, no matter how great the threat to democracy.

John Henning
Athens, Ohio