Re: “SCV residents join in ‘Patriot Parade,’” Nov. 3: While I encourage articles to be published in The Signal from all sides of the aisle, I take offense to the front-page headline titled “Patriot.”
A little background: My parents were immigrants fleeing Eastern Europe and communism after World War II. They settled in the U.S. in 1967 and became citizens in 1975, allowing me to automatically be a citizen of the U.S. At the first opportunity, I cast my ballot and was very proud of that accomplishment. I have voted in every election ever since and consider myself to be a true patriot and proud American.
Fast forward to 2020. What I take offense to is this headline insinuating that somehow if you are not a Donald Trump supporter, you are not a patriot. I believe the quotes around the headline are a way of diffusing that message, but certainly at first glance, that is not the impression. I am not questioning the patriotism of the Trump supporters, but am questioning the underlying message it gives to everyone else. This was not a Patriot Parade in and of itself. It was a Trump parade.
Maybe I am too sensitive to the rhetoric that has been spewed over the last four years, but certainly the division in this country has gotten much worse under the current administration and, in my opinion, this headline tapped into that division.
I truly hope that going forward we will all be in a better place and work together to form a better union. That is what makes America great!
Maria Wright
Valencia
Editor’s note: “Patriot Parade” wasn’t something we manufactured. It was the name of the event.
