Dear Editor,

The other day I was at Krogers in Bellaire doing some shopping when a gentleman commented he liked my Trump/Vance hat.

We began discussing politics. He was quite articulate and understood the deeper problems hoisted upon us these last four years and things we saw wrong with the left and democrat party.

As the conversation started to end, I asked his name and where he was from. I won’t give either because I don’t know if I have his permission to use it.

I gave him mine and he replied, “You’re that guy!”

He reads these letters.

After I got home I began to think about the statement “You’re that guy!” I want him to know that he is ‘that guy” too. Even though the conversation was between the two of us, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that others were listening to us.

Why is that important?

We live in a society today that tries to tell us what to think. And when we do not tow the political narrative of the mainstream media and elite, they try to censor us.

You and I have a responsibility to speak up to those around us. I encourage people to delve deeply into facts and stop being low information voters.

Social media can be good and bad but it should never be silenced for the benefit of the so called “overlords” to determine what is or isn’t misinformation. No one has given them that right and it is unconstitutional and attacks our first amendment right of free speech.

There are people who write letters on this forum that I think are way off base and don’t understand what is happening just as I am sure they don’t agree with me. But they have a first amendment right to state their ideas and I will defend that.

Speech is not dangerous if you have an educated public. We must always be vigilant to defend our views. Each one of us, whether man, woman, white, black, brown, young or old is “that guy.” Speak up or the elites will speak for you. “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.” Acts 17:11-12

Randy Marple

Shadyside