After reading the April 14 opinion pieces by Andrew Taban and Lois Eisenberg, you would think Americans are suddenly living in some kind of police state. Honestly, I am tired of hearing words like “oppression,” “dictatorship,” and “threat to democracy” thrown around every time someone dislikes an election result or a political figure.
Those words are serious. They should actually mean something.
One of my closest friends has family roots in Iran, and listening to stories about what people there have endured gives a very different perspective on what real oppression actually looks like. In countries like Iran, people are arrested, imprisoned, tortured and even executed for speaking against the government. People there do not write opinion columns attacking political leaders and then safely go about their lives afterward.
That is the difference.
Andrew Taban and Lois Eisenberg are free to say whatever they want. They are free to criticize the president, criticize the government, protest publicly, and post their outrage all over social media without fear of being arrested. Does that sound like a police state?
What freedoms have they actually lost?
The right to vote? No.
The right to speak freely? No.
The right to publicly criticize elected officials? Clearly not.
Too many people watch nonstop political commentary and suddenly believe America is collapsing because they disagree with the current administration. Political disagreement is not oppression.
People also seem to forget what regimes like Iran have actually done. Americans were held hostage there for well over a year after the 1979 Iran hostage crisis began. The regime has funded extremist groups and brutally punished its own citizens for decades. One widely reported case was Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari, who was executed at age 27, following protests against the government. His case drew international condemnation, with widespread concern that his confession had been coerced under torture and that his trial lacked due process.
That is real oppression.
That is what a true police state looks like.
The United States is not perfect. No country is. However, Americans still enjoy freedoms that millions around the world would give anything to have. Frankly, more people should appreciate that instead of constantly pretending they are victims.
At the same time, while everyone keeps fighting national political battles, many residents here in Santa Clarita are still waiting for honest answers about issues directly affecting our own community. Residents deserve transparency regarding what is happening along Bouquet Canyon Road and at the old Saugus Speedway property. People have legitimate concerns about possible lithium battery storage projects, safety risks, and infrastructure development, especially after reports of large boulders falling near the roadway.
Those are real concerns impacting real families.
Perspective matters. Gratitude matters. And before people casually compare the United States to oppressive regimes, they should first understand what real oppression actually looks like.
Glenda Roybal
Canyon Country
