Good morning and memories of a solemn Memorial Day weekend to us all.

It seems as though the very skies were crying in sympathy for all who died in all the battles for our right to enjoy God’s gifts to mankind. Those gifts are, perhaps likened to a beautiful shiny watch, presented to us for its utility and the joy its amazing precision gives life.

Those who are now posturing as the rulers of mankind are the deranged children who would smash that gift to pieces to examine and pervert its inner workings.

We think of all who stepped into the battles and fell, knowing full well that battle must be joined lest all the good in mankind be lost. Young men, perhaps 17 to 21 years old, joined the older more experienced to fight that we might gain and retain simple human dignity and freedom. Rather than thank a veteran survivor of those battles, show your gratitude by restoring our freedoms, by standing for the principles for which so many served and so many died.

The battle is ongoing and as close as your community. Speak out against the insanity that issues from the State Capitol, from County and City offices, from the School Board, anywhere you find it. Our state and federal constitutions acknowledge our right to be heard. We are not subjects, we are the financiers of those who seek to rule and impoverish us all.

Time has come for all decent, knowledgeable people to stand firm against the gibbering masses who work for our downfall and the enslavement of God’s children — we are all God’s children. We can speak out firmly without hate against all the insanity they can muster, but we must do it in unification. Now is the time. Too many children have been damaged, too many service people have served and died. Their spirits will haunt us if we fail them now!

Rick Rienks

Baker City