📸 Credit: MLB Broadcast During the National Anthem at Bristol, fans came together to create this flag image in the stands — a stunning show of unity.
Editorial Commentary
One of the hardest parts of running a community group is watching how people treat each other when they think they’re right.
Some folks don’t just disagree. They actively try to silence or embarrass others. They report posts they don’t like. They troll. They heckle. They don’t debate ideas, they attack people. That’s not healthy disagreement. That’s terrorism of thought. And it’s poison.
You see it every time someone mentions the President, vaccines, pronouns, or any number of hot-button issues. The discussion doesn’t last. Someone always shows up looking to make others feel small, unwelcome, or afraid.
It’s exhausting. It’s divisive. And worst of all, it’s becoming normal.
We need to snap out of it.
The cost of freedom is letting other people be free, even when you disagree with how they live, what they say, or what they believe. If we only defend speech we like, we’re not defending freedom. We’re defending our tribe.
That’s not how Liberty works. That’s not how a Free society functions. And if we keep going down that road, we won’t lose to each other. We’ll lose to the people in power who love it when we fight among ourselves.
Real Freedom means real tolerance. It means letting people speak without punishment. It means understanding that your feelings don’t override someone else’s rights.
I know that’s not always easy. But it’s the price of living in a society where we’re all different and still allowed to be.
At the end of the day, loyalty to a political party, a belief system, or an ideology isn’t what holds a community together. Loyalty to and care for each other does.
Because Freedom isn’t a team sport. And if we let tribalism cost us our rights or our humanity, we’ve already lost.
Before we’re anything else, we are Americans. We are Ohioans. We are Vermilionites or fellow Citizens. That should mean something. It should remind us that we share more than we disagree on. If we can’t stand up for each other, we’ll never stand up to anything that truly threatens us. Like the behavior of silencing others who think differently than we do.
About the Author
Just so spot on…. There isn’t one Vermilionite that owns the franchise of caring and loving our beautiful town. We all do in our own way. That one common denominator needs to bring some unity to our community. Let’s Go!!