In Robert Johnston’s July 24 letter to the editor, “Support troops by supporting mission,” he criticizes Democrats for not supporting the war. He said Democrats use hate and smear tactics to undermine the war with the hope of seeing the president fail. He also said Democrats claim the world is becoming more anti-American and that they are liberalizing our culture and usurping our traditions.
I’d like to congratulate Johnston for exercising his right of free speech. But what I can’t understand is why he condemns so-called liberal Democrats for doing the same.
I would like him to keep in mind that there are Democrats, liberal ones too, fighting and dying in Iraq. As a whole, Democrats are willing to pay the taxes that buy the flak jackets our soldiers need, the pay they receive and the medical and retirement benefits they deserve.
And if the world is becoming more anti-American, it can’t be because the Democrats say it is so. Certainly, the rest of the world is capable of forming its own opinion. Where are those weapons of mass destruction?
I am not sure what Johnston meant when he said Democrats are liberalizing our culture and usurping our traditions, unless it means that since the Republicans have majorities in both houses of Congress and the White House, that only they can have opinions and exercise the right of free speech. But that might be a little far-fetched and what I hope he meant was that by speaking out against the war, Democrats are doing their duty, participating in the governance of their country and holding elected officials accountable for their decisions. Isn’t that what a democracy is about?
KEN HANSEN
Snohomish
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