Our greatest time was our founding, when some of the most moral, intelligent and gifted men and women all came together in a moment of purely inspired genius. Oh, they knew their history and they drew upon the teachings of John Locke, Rousseau, the Magna Carta and the Holy Bible. And they put together a government and constitution that’s still the envy of the world. This is when America was great.
Even young LaFayette knew America was the place to be. He knew what all Americans have come to know. We are about freedom and free will and self-reliance and independent thought.
It’s hard to tell independent Americans what to do or how to vote. We think critically and stand for what we believe. And at your own peril, do not discount the common sense of our people. The Dems called us garbage, but that just means we’re streetwise and the elites cannot have their way with us. This is why America is great.
We stand for the right to speak freely, even if you’d call it hate speech. We need to return to the soap box on the public square where everyone got to have their say, no matter how vile their opinion. We stand for the right of minority opinions. That’s you, Ed Rutan, as a Never Trumper. That makes us great.
We value all life. Our own. The old. The unborn. The 325,000 missing immigrant children whose DNA was purposely never tested who now serve as child laborers, sex slaves or are dead. This is why we want to make America great again.
My grandfather served in World War I and raised six children during the Great Depression when no one locked their doors because there was nothing to steal. They threw an extra potato in the soup for anyone who showed up on the porch.
This same proud, hard-scrabble generation refused all forms of charity. They wouldn’t take a free hotel room, a free cellphone or $1,000 a month if it came from someone else’s labor. They made America great.
My children’s great-grandmother sent all four sons off to World War II and never heard a word in three years. With her second-grade education, she finally got the courage to write the secretary of war for any news. We hold that letter dear. So, Tom Hanks, there was more than one Pvt. Ryan when America was great.
My children’s grandmother was a Rosie the Riveter in the local tank plant. My mom turned down a college scholarship to help the family. This was when America sacrificed. This was when America was great.
My father went to war in the Pacific, riding on landing craft in a typhoon, terrified because he never learned to swim. (He made sure all five of us learned). He had malaria many times, even after coming home. He was luckily found by a friend wandering the streets of our city, sick with it, and not knowing his own name. These were the people who made America great. It’s up to us to keep it. Ed, from your letter, I do not think you love America enough.
You claim that post Civil War, immigrants were all welcome. Well, I am an Irish American. My ancestors came right after the Civil War only to be greeted by signs in shops and places of business stating, “Irish Need Not Apply.” My grandmother’s land along the river was stolen by a doctor she trusted to help her read. But this didn’t keep us down. It just made us tougher. And we made America great.
My husband’s grandmother, one of 14 children, arrived as a child at Ellis Island and was sent to the big city at age 14 to be a maid. No real education for her, but an American dream for her children and grandchildren.
So, Ed, what is the MAGA movement trying to tell you? We are the rebels, and you are the Tories. I trust you know which side won.
The party is changing. You cannot wish us gone. You see, Ed, this is personal to me. I am holding onto the conservative values and dreams of my parents and grandparents. I am honoring their names. And I am saving their legacy and mine — for my own children and three grandchildren. This is what MAGA means. And I don’t think there’s a damn thing you can do about it!
Karen Murphy Ballash
Lower Pinebrook