PATRIOTS: Then and now

During World War II, the first thing they did was take away our rights to buy food. We couldn’t just go to the store and buy what we wanted. We had to have a ration book and stamp for everything. We could only buy three gallons of gas a month. That was not enough to go for rides and visits.

Then they insisted we keep our windows covered at night with blackout drapes. We wanted to look at the night sky. Then the audacity — they drafted us.

Then came the polio pandemic. They told you you had to stay home — no school. You couldn’t go where you wanted. If you lived on the East Coast and there were hurricane warnings, they told you to evacuate, leave your home or shelter in place. Really? If you lived in the Midwest, there were tornadoes, and you were ordered to shelter in place…

What do they think? We have rabies and we are going to infect people?

The world is again facing a common enemy that will kill people: 234,085 here, just as bombs and bullets did during World War II. A patriot is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, they are a patriot.

A patriot is a citizen of this great country who is willing to make sacrifices for the majority. They don’t hoard and they wear the mask because it’s the right thing to do.

During World War II, there were people who were in the black market hoarding, not following the mandates. They were ostracized by their communities. And rightly so.

Be a patriot, like your grandparents and parents.

JUNE PAXTON

Coeur d’Alene