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LETTERS TORO. BOX 1027, ATHENS, GA 30603
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Libertapians Suck
The music duo Clay Babies has a new sin
gle with revenue going to an organization
fighting to get big money out of politics and
create a true democracy that will replace our
current plutocratic tendencies. Following is
my song’s impetus.
I share my thoughts humbly because I
have a lot to learn, though I also have the
ability to think for myself. But from what
I can tell, the Libertarian Party is made up
of right-wing greedy capitalists who don’t
want a democratic government in their way
of making as much money as they can—and
also their working-class members who’ve
fallen for their propaganda. A functioning
democracy that protects people and our
environment would certainly get in the way
of capitalists making the enormous profits
they can make whenever they operate in
dangerous, irresponsible or cruel ways. The
Libertarian Party platform gives words to
good-sounding ideas that left-wing people
would agree with. But it’s flawed in major
ways, as you can see if you know anything
about people’s history, including the labor
movement.
I like the words of Libertarians when
they talk about freedom to follow our
dreams and not live under an authoritarian
government. But what I don’t hear them
saying is how society should deal with it
if it’s an individual’s dream to hoard the
world’s resources for his own selfish gain or
to create a company where his byproducts
are poisoning workers or destroying water
ways or groundwater. Libertarians don’t
mind creating a society in which people are
either of the rich-born ruling class or they
live under a corporate tyranny. As long as
it’s Walmart or Amazon that ends up own
ing the world and calling the shots, that’s
fine by them because at least it’s not big bad
government, right? Wrong! Restrictions
on our freedom are bad whether it’s caused
by government or by corporations. If we
nix a democratic government and further
deregulate corporations, that will result in
less freedom and more suffering. History
demonstrates this.
We can create a truly democratic govern
ment that is for the people, by the people,
and benefits all of “we the people.”
We can create a world where peace
defeats war and where all people everywhere
enjoy liberty and justice. Libertarians claim
the word “freedom,” but it doesn’t belong to
them. If you want to see some people who
truly love freedom, try looking at demo
cratic socialists, the People’s Party, Working
Families Party or progressives such as Jus
tice Democrats who are fighting to take over
the corrupt Democratic Party. Join us in cre
ating a more peaceful and democratic world
that truly fosters freedom for all.
Lillie Potts
Athens
On Aug. 22, Gov. Brian Kemp com
plained that the AJC “chided my decision
to...urge—not mandate—Georgians to
wear masks. This is still America, right?”
Yes, it is, although it is hard to tell these
days. A police officer shoots an unarmed
Black man in the back seven times in front
of his children, and another suffocates
George Floyd while bystanders cry out to
stop. The president outright lies every day.
America was built on the ideals of free
dom. But our liberties should not come at
the expense of others’. In 2005, the Georgia
Smokefree Air Act was passed, prohibiting
smoking indoors at most public places.
Why? Because while an individual has the
right to choose to smoke cigarettes, he does
not have the right to endanger the health
of those around him while enjoying this
pastime.
When I was younger, I wore perfume. It
felt good, but in medical school, I learned
how people suffer from headaches, allergies
and asthma exacerbations due to perfume.
Do I have a right to wear perfume? Yes. Do
I intend to hurt anyone while doing so? Of
course not. But does my right to smell good
supercede my neighbor’s right to breathe
without getting sick? I don’t think so. So I
stopped wearing perfume.
Research and experience have
shown that mandating masks increases
mask-wearing and decreases the spread of
COVID-19. COVID-19 has already killed
over 5,000 people in Georgia. In Athens,
Atlanta, Savannah and other cities, local
leaders realize that mask mandates save
lives. It’s time Kemp did, too. Even if you
don’t care about other people, mask-wear
ing will help us reopen the economy, save
jobs and lives, and prevent people from
being evicted from their homes.
Nicole Broerman, M.D.
Watkinsville
Celebrating 100 Years of Suffrage
One hundred years ago, women won the
right to vote. Suffragettes endured arrests
and imprisonment in squalid workhouses
where they were brutalized and force-fed.
Over the decades, women have honored
these pioneering efforts by consistently
turning out to vote in higher numbers than
men. Their participation at the polls and
in civic affairs has helped change attitudes
and promote a more inclusive society, awak
ening public awareness to injustices and
disparate treatment in the home and in the
workplace.
Female voters overwhelmingly believe
that women, more than men, possess
the leadership qualities of getting things
done, solving problems, building a better
future and fighting for ordinary Americans
that Washington and our state houses
sorely need. 2018 saw a record number of
women elected to Congress, as well as to
lower offices across the country. Most were
Democrats. The number of Republican
women in Congress declined and more
women are leaving the party led by Trump.
Suffrage gave women a voice and greater
ammunition to make a difference on every
level. This has been made more urgent by
the ongoing pandemic and the fact that the
next election will be critical to our nation’s
future. Americans will have the opportu
nity to elect competent leaders who will be
charged with guiding our nation’s recovery
and implementing safe, smart and effective
policies to restart our stalled economy and
prevent future outbreaks of this devastat
ing virus. We must make good choices. In
1920, women won the right to vote. Don’t
waste it.
Peggy Perkins
Winder
Save the Postal Service
I live in Georgia’s 10th Congressional
District, and I vote in every election.
We are in the midst of the COVID-19
epidemic, the greatest threat to the health
of Americans in 100 years. More than 5
million Americans have been infected. More
than 175,000 Americans have died, includ
ing 5,000 Georgians. Current projections
are that more than 300,000 Americans
could die by the beginning of December
unless effective steps are taken now to stop
the spread of this deadly virus.
The most basic right of Georgians and
other Americans is the right to vote. Voting
in person creates the risk of mass infections
of voters, poll workers and the public with
severe illness and even death. Voting by
mail protects the health and well-being of
all of us. It is essential to make sure the U.S.
Postal Service has the ability to deliver all
election-related mail in a timely fashion.
Recently, the House of Representatives
passed the Delivering for America Act to
ensure that the U.S. Postal Service can do
just that. It is now up to the Senate to do
the same. The Senate must put this act to
a vote, and Sens. David Perdue and Kelly
LoeffLer must vote “yes” for the Delivering
for America Act.
The failure of Perdue and LoeffLer to do
so would represent a betrayal of their sworn
duty to protect our most basic rights: the
right to vote safely, and the right to be pro
tected from unnecessary exposure to illness
and death. We expect our senators to do
their duty by bringing the bill to the Senate
floor and voting “yes” on the Delivering for
America Act.
Bruce Menke
Athens
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FLAGPOLE.COM | SEPTEMBER 2, 2020