Speak up.

Al Gore, a true patriot, delivered an important speech back in January. I re-read it today. He discusses fear and our founders.

Fear drives out reason. Fear suppresses the politics of discourse and opens the door to the politics of destruction. Justice Brandeis once wrote: “Men feared witches and burnt women.”


The founders of our country faced dire threats. If they failed in their endeavors, they would have been hung as traitors. The very existence of our country was at risk.

Yet, in the teeth of those dangers, they insisted on establishing the Bill of Rights.

Is our Congress today in more danger than were their predecessors when the British army was marching on the Capitol? Is the world more dangerous than when we faced an ideological enemy with tens of thousands of missiles poised to be launched against us and annihilate our country at a moment’s notice? Is America in more danger now than when we faced worldwide fascism on the march—when our fathers fought and won two World Wars simultaneously?

It is simply an insult to those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they. Yet they faithfully protected our freedoms and now it is up to us to do the same.

The Democratic Party is imperfect. We have our charlatans. We, too, are beholden to special interests too often. But at this moment in our history it is critical to put the brakes on the the Republican juggernaut. Gerrymandered Congressional Districts make incumbancy more powerful than ever. Radical Republicans control all three branches of the government. The Executive Branch has unprecedented power and Congress is exercising virtually no oversight. It is time to take our country back from the fearmongers. It is time to reclaim our freedoms. Vote Democratic. Work for Democratic candidates. Send contributions to Democratic candidates. Speak up.