MY TURN: Points to consider about Regan's 'American fascism'

I read Brent Regan’s Friday, Dec. 16, opinion with some agreement. Yep, people’s perspective of events is colored by their education, beliefs and socioeconomic position in their community. Certainly, news sources provide a data point from which to form an opinion. Trust or lack thereof in the source of information about an event colors each individual’s perception. A measure of doubt and the curiosity to resolve the doubt with data from different sources is a better way to achieve the end goal of truth. Anyone can have an opinion and the opinion doesn’t need to be supported by facts or evidence. If the opinion is voiced in an attempt to sway others to embrace the opinion, those who would be swayed should first establish if the opinion is valid. If people are too lazy or entrenched to validate a belief and simply accept it and pass it on, they may be guilty of contributing to the dissemination of propaganda and they may not like the end result.

Brent’s opinion was titled “American fascism." His evidence for this claim was the degree of control “this administration can exercise over you." He illustrates this control with a litany of examples including monetary supply, food supply, health care, education etc. “They control nearly every industry through regulation." I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but laws, regulations, and controls aren’t the sole development of “this administration." Every administration since the founding of this country promulgated laws, regulations and controls. The goals were to provide equal justice and the freedom to live together as a society in peace and happiness. Perhaps Brent believes anarchy is a better choice than “this administration."

Brent’s first examples of the slant of news reporting in our fair city uses a recent NIC board meeting where fire alarms were pulled and dissenters shouted, compared to conservative mask dissenters at a school board meeting. It is unsurprising that news stories include some of the opinions of the reporters writing the articles. I’m not supportive of disruptive people in open meetings. There are rules for open meetings that are designed to preclude anarchy so voices can be heard and the subjects to be discussed in the meetings are known by all participants. The goal of any school board or board of trustees should be to provide governance to best support the community. The community has the right and obligation to elect representatives they think will best support the community goals. Clearly, there are differing opinions regarding what is best for the community. In the case of NIC, there is a lawsuit involving the new president similar to the suit by the old president. This isn’t an opinion; this is a fact. There will be a legal opinion as to how much that will cost the community. There was a question regarding the validity of the accreditation sanction. One group’s opinion is that the threat is overblown. That group has little to no experience regarding the requirements for accreditation. Another group with experience in the successful operation of a college fears the worst. The truth is available and voters could have gained it with enough curiosity to do a little research.

Brent says Mr. Musk purchased Twitter with the express goal of preserving free speech. It is apparent Brent’s opinion was written prior to Mr. Musk expelling a number of reporters and others from Twitter. I doubt his goal is free speech considering the latest events. Like “the administration” Brent seems to believe is fascist I think Mr. Musk is exercising the control of an administrator.

Come to think of it, Mr. Regan is the administrator of the KCRCC. As the president, he believes Marjorie Taylor Green is the perfect person to give an address to the “true” Republicans. Marjorie has a number of opinions, which on close examination, have no supportive evidence indicating they are factually based. Initially it was a belief in QAnon, then she equated COVID-19 safety protocols to the Nazi treatment of Jews, then Jews fired lasers from space to start wildfires, then 9/11 was an inside job, etc. There isn’t a conspiracy too far-fetched for her little brain to embrace. She seems to be full of hatred of Jews and it is important to dehumanize those you would hate so you don’t feel badly about their extermination. It is curious, with the KCRCC being overtly Christian, how they can support someone so Jewish-averse as Marjorie when Christ and all his disciples were Jewish.

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Doug Albertson is a 40-year resident of Coeur d'Alene.