From Nancy Baker, Evan Hull 

and Donna Mackeseay 

Monroe

To the editor:

Overnight, someone destroyed our mailboxes: a federal crime punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The investigating officer concluded this property damage, on and of private property, was politically motivated by our pro-Biden signs, which were stolen or irreparably damaged.

Destruction of private property in these troubled times is not limited to inner cities. Perpetrators are not limited to Black Lives Matter demonstrators, “left wing” protestors, or antifascist activists. Lawbreakers who punish others for exercising their free speech rights live right here in Green County. What can we and our elected officials do to protect the rights of all of us?

For generations, we in the United States have taken for granted the acceptance of important norms: respect for the law, the legitimacy of free speech and political debate, and, most importantly, the sanctity of democracy. These near-universally held beliefs are what have always made America great. We are not yet Belarus nor Russia nor the Ukraine, but we could be. Easy enough to give lip service to democratic values when things are going well. Failing to cling to them in times of national crisis will be their death knell and the end of our American greatness.

What happens in Green County reflects in small part what is happening elsewhere in the country. Current leadership gives license to and encourages lawlessness, no matter how much it claims to be the “law and order” option. The very least we can do is demand elected officials who respect the ideals and institutions that have served this country so well for so long.