To the Editor:
On Thursday, September 1, 2022, Joe Biden gave the most disgraceful speech ever given by an American president. His use of dehumanizing language to describe over seventy million fellow Americans, simply because they disagree with him, was disturbing. His demonic setting was purposefully menacing, seeming to depict him speaking from the gates of Hades. Targeting a specific group of citizens is ugly and alarming.
It is particularly appalling coming from a man and party who promised unity – a claim we can all now see was a lie. Our country has a long history of intense disagreement, from our founding to abolitionists who defied the majority opinion on slavery, to those who insisted Americans “resist” and become “ungovernable ” after Donald Trump won in 2016. In fact, there were proud calls for “insurrection ” and violent riots on inauguration day in 2017 . Biden never uttered a word of disapproval back then. Biden must stop his accusations that Americans who disagree with him “threaten the very foundations of our republic. ”
Dissent is not a threat to our republic’s foundations. Actually, it’s the opposite, and that principle is enshrined in the 1st Amendment. Demonizing citizens whom you are supposed to serve is the tactic used by dictators, not American presidents. Every American, regardless of political affiliation, should reject the hate and division espoused by Joe Biden.
Americans are not America’s enemy. We are her people, and though we may disagree strongly, we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
– Joseph Valese, Avalon
