<strong>To the editor:</strong>

I was born free and until recently I believed what we studied in school about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believed in freedom of religion, speech, press and to peaceably assemble. I believed in my right to protect my life and my property. I believed in the “do unto others … and love thy neighbor” that I learned in Sunday School.

Now our rights, constitutional and God-given, are being ripped away. Some really sick political employees have been recorded saying millions of us should be put in concentration camps, what come of them call re-education camps. I’m amazed that I have lived in these hills more than 60 years and have yet to meet a white supremacist. The internet sounds like there is one behind every tree.

Imagine how I felt when I read in the paper that four members of our town council have set up a biased committee to create a human rights commission to see if there is anything else that can be taken away from us or forced upon us. I was shocked to read that someone had already written the committee’s report before the committee had met, and that person did not even know the difference between equity and equality, equity being a cornerstone of Marxism. The writer of the human rights piece also forgot to include how we are to be punished for not following the new rules. The Chinese method of a single bullet behind the ear has proven to be very effective and cost-efficient.

I should have seen things like this coming when two members of the town council, in print and by their votes, said they “fear” the ghostly American flag on our police cars. One person told The Democrat that she had “friends” who did not come to her house because they are afraid of our police. This is ridiculous. If she really believes these so-called friends, then it is time to check them out. I have a feeling there are things in their backgrounds they do not want known.

When I see on television the murders, assaults, lootings, cities on fire because of arson, destruction of state and federal property, police being attacked and killed, flags burning and so much more, I have naively thanked my lucky stars to be living in Brown County. I felt safe. I was wrong. There are those among us who want to destroy our faith in our law enforcement officers, the military, preachers and ministers, judges, our valued neighbors and so many others who are a vital part of what makes America and Brown County special.

My initial reaction was to keep my head down and stay quiet. Why? I never thought of myself as a coward before. I cannot become one now, and I believe there are a lot of you out there who feel the same way. We all need to stand up for the rights that have been ours for almost 250 years.
<p style="text-align: right"><strong>Nina B. Leggett, Brown County</strong></p>
<em>Editor’s note: The story you’re referring to, about the creation of the town’s human rights citizens advisory committee, did not say that a woman’s friends were afraid of local police. The discussion being had was about whether or not people of color feel welcome and safe here in general. <a href="http://www.bcdemocrat.com/2021/01/27/town-council-oks-human-rights-advisory-committee/">The story read:</a> "Fifth-generation county resident Amy Kelso said that three years ago, she invited some non-white co-workers to a get-together at her house and they were concerned about whether they’d be safe here. She said she was ‘stunned’ to hear that. Nashville isn’t just some little old town of 1,000 people; it’s an international tourism destination, Kelso said. ‘We don’t want people to be afraid to come here, and I’m sorry to tell you that some are,’ she said.”</em>