Proud of the 638 voters

To the editor:
Six hundred thirty-eight (638). That’s the number of people in Ringgold County who chose to vote for Harris-Walz instead of Trump-Vance.
I am writing to say this to the 638: You did not make a mistake.
Just the first days of the Trump Administration show the wild and stupid ride we will be on. A handful of self-serving billionaires will be Trump’s inner circle. His cabinet will be full of people whose only qualification is loyalty to Trump. With the pardon of the January 6 rioters, Trump has given the green light to political violence on his behalf. And easy promises, like that of lower grocery prices, have already been moved to the back-burner.
But I’m not writing to persuade anyone that Trump is a fraud and a danger to democracy. I’m writing to congratulate those 638 people who did not accept the MAGA message. Trump and the Republican Party have been stirring up some of the worst of our country’s longstanding attitudes: racism, sexism, fear of outsiders, and the desire to impose religious views on others.
Here in Iowa, those malignant messages are broadcast every day on talk radio from Des Moines, on Fox News, and from the governor’s office.
I congratulate the 638 for choosing not to vote for the denial of American ideals, which is what the MAGA movement is really about.
Trumpism does not believe that everyone is created equal. Instead, it looks back to a “golden age” when white men were in charge — when racial segregation was legal, being gay or transgender was basically illegal, and women’s rights and opportunities were limited.
But, again, I’m not writing to persuade the fans of Trump. Someday, hopefully, they will open their eyes and see what’s going on.
We, the 638 and others of like mind, need to stay firm in our convictions and resist as best we can. We are in the minority, but it is a minority of hundreds of people. And as George Orwell said in his novel 1984: “Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.”
Don Ray
Maloy