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There is a book by President Kennedy titled “Profiles in Courage.”
In the years since his presidency the Kennedy family has given the Profile in Courage Awards to many individuals and groups. In 2022 the award was given to a group of five individuals for “Defending Democracy.”
Among that group was Liz Cheney, the well-known and at that time the Congresswoman from the state of Wyoming.
She was honored for showing courage when she put her entire political career on the line to oppose the illegal and violent attempts by Donald Trump to stop the peaceful transfer of power.
She frankly put country over party and did what she knew was right. And pay she did. She was stripped of her party leadership position and then run out of Congress in the primary election the following year. But she knows what is right and continues to fight.
Now I doubt that Liz Cheney and I agree on much of anything except that country is more important than party. She looked at what Trump was doing and decided that it was an attack on the rule of law and the Constitution. At that point she had to take her stand.
At the 2022 Profile in Courage awards ceremony she gave a short speech which you can find at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA1FwiG1Kv0 .
It is inspiring and lays out why she did what she did. We need more statespersons like her and fewer politicians.
It is now our turn to stand up and be counted. As Liz said in her speech, and I paraphrase, there are no spectators in a democracy but rather we must all be participants.
I say this because I have heard that many people are afraid to put out yard signs or wear a T-shirt with a political message on it. Now if you are just a person that doesn’t do yard signs or T-shirts that is fine, but do not let fear stop you if you want to.
If we cease to speak publicly about these important issues in whatever way we see fit, then we cede the ground to Trump and his supporters. They will certainly not be shy about speaking out.
I know these are scary times. But this I know, if we want to have a democracy, we will need to fight for it.
So, get out there in any way you see fit and fight.
Remember, when we fight, we win.
James Beard
Albemarle