Reject political evils; civility has its costs

Reject political evils; civility has its costs

WRITE OF CENTER

RICHARD SENA KENDALL COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY Y

This week’s column includes a potpourri of thoughts on several topics.

First, our heartfelt condolences to his family on the passing of our Kendall County GOP Chairman Buck Rogers.

Buck was a dedicated, committed patriot who loved our country and served with an exemplary career in the U.S. Air Force, and later a meaningful advocacy at the grass roots. He was a good listener, very gracious, and full of wisdom.

Buck’s sensible and reasonable approach produced a leadership style that built consensus and unity, which unfortunately is all too rare these days. Buck will be sorely missed.

A second thought concerns Kevin Henning’s recent Boerne Star column (Progressive Views).

Though we are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, I have always found Kevin to be a respectful individual who is a good listener.

Stressing the need to learn to listen to divergent views, Kevin encouraged readers to understand the basis for another’s opinion, and bring civility back to our political discourse, noting the time is ripe to stand up to extremists and win back the trust of average Americans.

I agree. Perhaps we can strike this deal: the GOP rids itself of self-absorbed narcissists like Reps. Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert, while Democrats expel from their ranks the anti-Semitic Socialists and Marxists who constitute “The Squad,” including Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, AOC, and any others who never seem to have anything good to say about America.

This column’s third part veers into a different direction: Expressing total disgust at the reaction on many U.S. college campuses in supportive response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel.

My first thought on this was that colleges are supposed to be dedicated to expanding student minds while promoting critical thinking. What we have seen on many campuses is anything but this.

A group of University of Wisconsin students demonstrated to support this barbarity. Holding Palestinian flags they shouted, “Glory to the murders. We will liberate the land by any means necessary.”

The university declined to condemn the chants, describing them as “respectful dialogue.” A spokesperson for the school said in a statement to the New York Post, “The university is not able to restrict First Amendment protected speech.”

I think this response is hogwash. Protect First Amendment rights? Good luck to any conservative speaker should they attempt to present a lecture at some of those universities. They would be shouted down by the brown and black shirt fascists who pose as students seeking knowledge and truth.

Things were even worse at Cornell University, where a professor was filmed telling students that Hamas’ terror attacks were both “exhilarating and energizing.” Russell Rickford, an associate professor of history, claimed that Palestinians were born into violence and oppression and finally were “able to breathe for the first time in years” following the massacre and barbaric beheading of children and rape of women.

It was just as bad at Columbia University, which refused to comment on a tenured professor who called Hamas’ terror attacks “awesome” and a stunning victory.

Who hires these kooks to teach our students? Why should we pay hard-earned money to expose our children to such nonsense?

I believe the answer to this question has a long history. Starting back in the 1960’s, the radical left loudly opposed U.S. efforts to limit Communist expansion and win the Cold War. Whether it was anti-war protests, spitting on returning soldiers from Vietnam, or burning the American flag, radicals sought to undermine American institutions.

This continued into the 1980s as President Reagan sought to rebuild our atrophied military while promoting his vision of how the Cold War would end: “We win and they lose.”

While they continue to condemn the U.S., note that none of these rabblerousers have ever emigrated to Marxist “paradises” such as Cuba or Venezuela. Their hero, Sen. Bernie Sanders, was quoted during a period of U.S. economic downturn, “So who is the banana republic now?”

Sanders was favorably comparing Venezuela’s economy to that of the U.S.

Fast forward to 2023 – more than seven million people, or one-quarter of its population, have fled Venezuela. And where are many of them going? To the good ol’ USA.

The terrorist attacks on our ally Israel represents pure evil. Hamas must be destroyed. The Arabs who live in Gaza or the West Bank deserve better leadership and economic opportunity than what they have received over the past 60 years.

We should all pray that wisdom will prevail, and peace is realized. The future of a very contentious region (and world) is dependent on it.