Value of protest begins with respect

I suppose I could write a short piece about being born up in often-freezing-cold Minnesota in a small working class town with limited opportunities outside of the local slaughterhouse but the fact is I was born into a mostly functioning, caring family in America. As I have aged, I have seen and learned much about the rest of the world and have come to the realization that I started by winning life's lottery and a big part of that comes from the being born in America part.

I fully understand that the many freedoms we are blessed with here include the right to protest but I am often puzzled by how many recent protests seem to be based in a dislike or hatred toward our country. I don't pretend that America has always been perfect, but our founders had the wisdom to create a unique form of self-governing that has the ability to adjust and correct itself. Perfect? No. Striving to be good and do the right thing? Very often yes.

We have also over the decades always had a large portion of the population willing to fight and die when necessary in order to protect the many freedoms we all enjoy. I just wish some of the protesters would stop and consider some of these things and people when they are deciding what form their protest is going to take. If they want to be noticed and have their point of view respected, it starts with showing some respect.

Marc Thomsen

Elk Grove Village