Today’s self-serving politicians are doing their best to control the minds of American citizens through fear and deception. It is encouraging to see letters to the editor break through the nonstop manipulative behavior.

“It’s high time we stop speaking of race” was an excellent letter reminding everyone that we are all one race — the HUMAN RACE. We have different characteristics, but we are all the same. People that throw racist insults to anyone with a different opinion seem to be the ones with the racist thoughts. To take a group of people you do not know and label them as racist is a bigoted and destructive behavior.

A second letter, “Letter was insulting to so many people,” recognized the absurdity of a previous letter comparing MAGA people to the Taliban. Failure to recognize the Taliban as a terrorist group that created a brutal weapon-driven insurgency that overthrew a government, beheads people, burns Christians, kills any woman that does not wear a burka, bombs the innocent, and enforces their own will on everyone, will only allow the cancerous behavior to spread and destroy decent societies.

The inaccurate labels and continuous misconceptions that have been politically repeated toward citizens who believe in the Constitution and Freedom of Speech are manipulative and basically insulting.

The activities of Jan. 6 have not been shown to be an insurrection. Instead it seems to have been an overwhelming number of people legally marching to have their rights recognized.

Why the videos of the activities inside the Capital Building have not been released to the public is bothersome. In this country we believe in Due Process. Although the overall event did not do their cause any justice, there has been no evidence of an insurrection. The fact that many are being held in solitary confinement goes against our Sixth Amendment that supports innocent until proven guilty, created to protect the innocent from unjust charges by an overbearing government.

It is inexcusable that public debates concerning COVID vaccinations versus hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin therapy, climate change versus astrological events controlling the weather, Critical Race Theory versus American history, election integrity, term limits for Congress, or the amount of money a member of Congress makes each time a bill is passed in favor of a political constituent, cannot be intelligently discussed.

Instead of just following the emotional roller coaster that is fueled by greed and power-thirsty politicians, each subject needs to be open for discussion without insults, the threat of incarceration or threat to one’s being.

If we continue to ignore the political manipulations, we the people, will fall into a proletarian society whose only value is to support the bourgeoisie class of extreme wealth and self-appointed power.

Rhonda Byrd
Bristol