LETTER: Letters show how fortunate we are to have freedom of speech

To Ozaukee Press:
    It is always good to look back to see how to move forward. Last year’s letters to the editor in Ozaukee Press revealed a myriad of mindsets, choices and opinions.
Many letters addressed Covid. Experienced medical individuals pleaded for Americans to become vaccinated. Stubborn others insisted the virus and vaccinations were a hoax. Now the news is filled with the Omicron variant infecting the world.
    One letter writer described government vaccine mandates as totalitarianism and socialistic. Note that Social Security, veterans’ health, public schools, water utilities, the military, police and the U.S. Postal Service are government operated.
    It is a strange, ironic twist on adjectives:  The vaccinated are pro-life; the unvaccinated pro-choice. The vaccinated will achieve herd immunity while the unvaccinated will seek refuge in Wisconsin’s understaffed hospitals and overburdened ICUs.
    There were letters on Afghanistan. While not perfect, Biden’s withdrawal will keep American soldiers and treasure safe. His challenge will continue to be the Covid virus, checkmating Russian aggression in Ukraine and GOP and individual Democrat obstinance.
    There were letters on immigration. Immigrants helped to build and strengthen America. The PEW research center projects by 2065 the U.S. population will be 46% white and 54% other. The evolutionary movement of humans throughout time is based on labor and refugee migration and urbanization. Religious congregations have thrown themselves into sheltering and advocating for migrants seeking asylum, but not without push-back.
    Then there were letters addressing politicians. Characteristics of a politically unstable country are politicians in positions of influence who use their time in office to maximize their own gains at the expense of industrious Americans. One present GOP Wisconsin legislator, Saukville’s Stroebel, received over $63,000 in federal agriculture subsidies but does not own a farm. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, supported a bill to allow generous tax cuts that resulted in more than $79 million in tax savings for two of his largest donors.
    There was a letter on women’s rights. The writer, a man, was advocating that women should oversee their own health care choices and not be dictated to by male-dominated legislative bodies. Surprisingly, there were no follow-up letters in rebuttal.
    One letter admonished the Ozaukee Press for fact checking submitted letters. The Press is a bastion of award-winning journalism.
    One letter on jurisprudence seemed to say it is OK for a teenager to cross state lines with a military weapon to become a self-appointed vigilante.
    And finally, a letter writer praising holiday Christianity while endorsing a car dealership pivoted to professional NFL players as clueless and having little understanding of their sports history. They are hardly clueless, but they use the playing field as their stage for promoting their belief system for racial justice, just as those behind pulpits and podiums promote their doctrines. Many are familiar with Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Colin Kaepernick, Dusty Baker, Hank Aaron, Patrick Mahomes, Tony Dungy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
    Among American cherished values, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech. Letter and opinion writers are fortunate.
Ken Bretl
Fredonia