Syndicate
Excerpt from “What We See: Freedom of Conscience”
Published March 2023
Written by Ottawa Impact
Photography by Simply American
As media and public intimidation of Conservative and Christian leaders in Ottawa County intensifies, it is interesting to review the insights and encouragement from Ottawa Impact’s March 2023 article related to DE&I.
Published below is an excerpt from the article originally released by Ottawa Impact.
From Ottawa Impact:
When examining the individuals and beliefs on either side of the CRT/DE&I debate, it becomes clear our country does not predominantly have a racial divide; we have an ideological and political divide.
We have seen the effects of this Marxist ideology in the harsh public treatment of those who disagree.
There is a demand for adherence to a set of beliefs, requiring compelled thoughts, speech, and actions to demonstrate support, and even compelled parenting of children in progressive ideology at school.
The public intimidation and bullying of those who do not hold these beliefs is growing, as evidenced by the actions of the Democratic Activist Media and partisan Party operatives over the past year.
We recognize the media and progressive activists are not used to Republican leaders with a backbone.
Censorship, demonization, and public intimidation of Conservatives have been the go-to method to obtain submission and silence.
We famously saw this “cancel culture” play out—punishing those who express alternative views by driving them from public life, with the intense defamatory media coverage of the Covington boys.
The defamation ultimately led to millions of dollars in payouts by media outlets. We now see it playing out again, as the local media aggressively targets conservative leaders, and progressive activists call people’s employers demanding they be fired.
Democratic Activist Media
The Democrat Activist Media coverage of local politics has escalated to non-stop articles maligning new Ottawa County Commissioners, Ottawa Impact supporters, and by extension—the Republican majority of The People of Ottawa County, as extremists.
Those in the public eye with the courage to stand for American values, rather than bow to the prescribed DE&I/CRT belief system, are routinely ostracized as far-right Christian nationalists.
Defending against the use of government to institutionalize a harmful DE&I/CRT agenda does not make Americans racist, extreme, or Christian nationalists. Nor does it place them outside of the norms of the Republican Party.
Protecting the constitutional right to the freedom of conscience and defending against racism and discrimination are core Republican positions.
The Republican Party is, after all, the party of Lincoln and the party of Reagan—the party which defeated slavery and brought down threats of communism.
And we will do it again.
Missing from local media coverage has been the January 26, 2023, Resolution by the Ottawa County Republican Party in support of the actions taken by the majority of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners on January 3,2023.
The GOP Resolution counters the local media’s false assertion that the actions taken by the new commissioners were extreme and did not reflect the will of The People in Michigan’s most conservative county.
While we appreciate the tenacity of the Democrat Activist Media and partisan Party operatives, we disagree with Marxist tactics which force compliance with progressive ideology under threat of personal destruction.
Freedom Over Force
Put simply, we believe in freedom over force, which includes the freedom of conscience.
Society has lost the beauty of co-existing peacefully with others of diverse beliefs and opinions. Many in our culture maintain that when we disagree with one another, we hate each other, and in order to love someone, we must agree with them completely.
This is simply not true.
People can coexist beautifully, and work together, even when we don’t fully agree. We love the people of this county, and desire positive outcomes for all.
New commissioners are moms and dads, nurses, teachers, business owners, etc.—everyday citizens who have poured their lives into helping others, and have now decided to get involved in government for the first time. The same is true of newly seated school board members.
We are thankful for these courageous individuals who desire what is best for the people of Ottawa County.
We know change is hard. We encourage passionate voices to turn from fear mongering and intimidation to truth telling and work on behalf of The People.
There is much work to do:
• Strengthening our love of country by increasing knowledge of the Constitution and our nation’s founding documents
• Strengthening the family, parental rights, and the importance of parents in a child’s life
• Encouraging fatherhood with honest conversations about systemic fatherlessness
• Ending education poverty and ensuring education excellence for every child
• Nourishing opportunities for school choice for all families
• Providing safe communities protected by strong law enforcement and justice systems
• Returning to the values of equality and merit
• Providing social uplift through jobs and economic opportunity
“There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” —President Ronald Reagan, “Time for Choosing” speech, 1964
The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the positions and beliefs of Simply American or its affiliates.
Original Article
To read the original article, please visit Ottawa Impact.
Contact Publisher
For more information, please contact Ottawa Impact.