WARNING: Before you read this article, be aware that you might see yourself in some of the descriptions. You may not like it. You may get angry.
That's the point.
As I write my blog every week, some people on social media and in public try to shame and silence me. Some say that if I don't like how things are being done where I have lived for approximately fifty years and where my husband was raised, I can leave. They chide me for criticizing town officials. "Why can't you just stop being negative?" they ask.
Enough.
I don't know if these people have noticed, but things in 2024 are not like they were in the 80's or even the 90's. We now have people running our town, county, state and country who lie, hide, and deflect attention from their suspect dealings. They blur the lines of ethics every day. They say they represent and serve the people, but their actions show otherwise. It doesn't matter how small the town is or how nice it used to be; things are not like that now.
The only people truly being served are the people who have carried officials' water for years. Look at the long-time appointments to committees, election boards, and advisory groups in any level of government. The same names, year after year. They give a nod to the idea that "anyone can apply" but that comment deceives people. People outside the "inner circle" of influencers rarely get appointed to the groups that "run things."
Those in power use those appointments to placate and silence people. A person once asking questions suddenly condemns others asking questions. Quick research finds this person suddenly sitting in a coveted position of bureaucratic power.
Here is the bottom line. Many (not all) of the people running your towns, counties, states and countries don't respect you. In fact, they think you are stupid, gullible, and needing direction in how to run your life. That's why they hate it when you ask questions or challenge them. Watch their faces when you do. The smiling facade will suddenly change to a sneer. They will shift in their seats and launch into long, winding explanations to overwhelm you. They will say arrogant things like, "Let me explain weather to you" when you question actions they have taken. They treat you like children.
If you know what I am talking about, you know what I am talking about. And yes, to the person who said that to a crowded meeting, we see what you think of us.
On a national scale, Congressman Dan Goldman tells a grieving mother testifying at the Mayorkas impeachment hearing, a mother who lost her daughter to fentanyl brought in through a wide-open southern border, that she doesn't understand what the impeachment of the DHS Secretary means:
“Obviously, given what your experience has been, you don’t have the background to understand what a high crime and misdemeanor is and how it relates to this,” he said to the grieving mom.
She didn't sit back and take it. She fought back.
The mother, Josephine Dunn, lashed out at Goldman’s insults and told the Daily Caller News Foundation that he is clearly “unaware about what my understanding, about what my education, what my experience is in any of those areas when it comes to misdemeanors or high crimes.”
The charade is over. It's over at the national, state and local level. The powers on both sides of the aisle think they can run over us by belittling us. They need a reminder that the people in the meetings they run have much more knowledge, experience and expertise than those who make such arrogant, dismissive statements.
So no, you don't have to explain misdemeanors or high crimes to us. Or weather for that matter.
The status quo won't work anymore. Being nice and quiet won't work anymore. Telling people to leave if they don't like how things are being done won't work anymore. Being a good little citizen won't work any more.
To the status quo bunch, I know you want to cozy up to these leaders, but they only want to use you not serve you. They don't really care about that business you are trying to protect by staying silent. They want you to march in line with them, follow their orders and never question one thing they do. Sooner or later you will want to speak up, but it will be too late.
Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence - Leonardo da Vinci
