OPINION: On Democracy: The value of admitting when we are wrong

I have been wrong so many times in my life, but I believe in the value of admitting it. For example, I was much more dogmatic and unbending as an Evangelical teen and young woman. I concede that some of my teenaged opinions were bigoted and hateful, and I am ashamed. For those who knew me at 17, I am sorry that I wasn't a better person. I've spent 26 years developing myself post-deconstruction. Others will remember the seven years of pro-vegan advocacy in which I engaged, and while I am still mostly plant-based (for my health and for the love and sustainability of the planet and all living creatures), I no longer identify with the term "vegan." That ended during Covid when the vegan community surged with anti-science propaganda and a doubled-down rejection of everyone who didn't perfectly fit their model of "good" and "right." It’s not necessary for everyone to be strictly vegan, and this uncompromising rigidity is not how you win people to your movement.

Yes, I can admit when I'm wrong.

Despite being a vocal leader in Democratic groups and supporter of Democratic causes, I've also voted Republican in recent history. I was a proponent of Bill Haslam for Governor because, as a college professor, I appreciated his push for Tennessee Promise—a radical reform that vaulted Tennessee colleges to the forefront of national progress. I didn't vote blue then because, frankly, I believe what Haslam was building was more impactful for Tennesseans than what the Democratic candidate offered.

I am not so arrogant as to believe that one party is and always will be right. In the end, what matters is that we are all able to admit when we are wrong or to cross the aisle when compassion and understanding are crucial. I believe that time is now. Some of my fellow citizens—and family and friends—have been staunch supporters of Donald Trump from day one, and they’ve stayed committed to his leadership through the January 6 insurrection, through allegations of sexual assault, and through ICE’s violent encroachment into American cities like our own.

But please be reasonable here. Please admit that you might have been wrong. Murdered in Minneapolis by federal agents, Veterans Affairs ICU nurse Alex Pretti was not a domestic terrorist, as he has already been painted in the media by Trump supporters.

I know you believe in the Second Amendment and "small" government. For some of you, it's the number one reason you keep voting red, and I don't want to diminish that. I vote blue because I believe in universal healthcare and equal rights for LGBTQ+, minority, and immigrant people. And I am staunchly pro-choice when it comes to one of the biggest and most impactful decisions a woman can make about her body.

We have our differences, but could you be wrong this time?

Could you step outside of your echo chamber and look at the footage of Pretti's death? Could you read the affidavits from eyewitnesses? Could you explore the timeline of events that have already been released by reputable news sources?

We can all exist together in this nation without agreeing on every point—I firmly believe that—but the very thing that makes us AMERICAN can't persist and thrive when we are told to deny the facts that are right in front of our face. Not one of us Americans should be bolstering a tyrannical government—especially the Second Amendment, "small" government types.

We must not abhor those who disagree with us. Dissent is American, but when dissent is spun as anti-government, we are on a slippery slope to tyranny. Just look at Iran right now where activism has been deemed Moharebeh (an act against God) that is punishable by death. Pretti is dead because of his activism. President Obama didn't take our guns, though that was a daily fear by "Tea Partiers,” and neither did President Biden; however, the former Tea Party folks (the Constitutional Republicans) have let their guard down if they're supporting the right for a government to disarm a licensed (white male) gun owner, executing him in broad daylight as he lies blinded on the ground.

The fact is, Trump won’t always be in power, and you’ll want your right to protest when the next administration takes over. I want that right for you, too. German theologian Martin Niemöller warns, "First they came for (insert everyone who has been attacked by this government's violent assault), and I did not speak out...Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me." There will be no one left to advocate and protest on your behalf if everyone is symbolically or physically muzzled or, more soberingly, if you are disarmed and shot because you are exercising your American right to protest.

And what will your Gadsden flag be worth then? Or your immovable support for a “small” government party leader who has expanded his executive power far beyond what is feasible in a democracy? What will it matter?

In my mind’s eye, I see a yellow metal plate, featuring that now-iconic snake, crumpled, abandoned, and clattering in the middle of the road—its symbolism wryly diminished and trampled upon in this watershed moment.

Dr. Liz Mayo is a guest columnist. Guest columns and letters to the editor are encouraged as a venue for readers to voice their opinions on local matters or the occasional state or national matter. Letters can be e-mailed to brandon@jacksonpost.news.