Standing up for our country
To The Editor:
On April 5 over 1,000 American citizens showed up at the Haywood County historic courthouse to stand up for democracy and our Constitution. We were not “bussed” in and we most certainly weren’t paid to be there. Some folks would like you to believe that all the citi-zens that were there were not locals — hate to be the bearer of bad news, many were Haywood County natives.
The demographics were across the board — young, old, in-between, male, female, retirees, workers, member of the LBGQ+, Democrats, Republicans and Independents — a cross-section of our county peacefully standing side-by-side.
This peaceful and diverse group had one thing in common, the saving of democracy, our Constitution, our country. We are tired of waking up each day and looking to see what rights are being taken away or being threatened. The SAVE Act will disenfranchise many female voters simply because they changed their name when they got married; the executive branch is looking into being able to deport American citizens to the hellhole in El Salvador with no due process; legal immigrants are being deported without due process and without having a criminal record; a tariff on pharmaceuticals was just announced — will we be able to afford our medication; and, the list goes on and on.
Some folks claim that DOGE has found fraud, waste and abuse and has saved money. But, is anyone talking about the weekly golf trips to Florida that are costing tax payers over $3 million each or a birthday parade that is estimated to cost $100 million?
As long as democracy and our Constitution are under attack, you will continue to see us peacefully standing up for our country.
Mary Ford, Major, USAF (retired)
Waynesville
