Here is a statement I recently shared with the entire Coalfield team. While initially only intended for our own internal audience, I felt it was important to share publicly because I think these are critically important times for our country, times that require truth and honesty and good citizenship (as opposed to the mob rioting we saw at our capitol yesterday). – Brandon Dennison, CEO
I want the Coalfield family to understand how terrible yesterday’s events were at our nation’s capital, why they were so terrible, and why it’s so important we all condemn yesterday’s treasonous actions in the strongest possible terms.
One of our main P2AD themes is citizenship. In our personal development curriculum we emphasize the importance of first caring for ourselves, but then realizing that life isn’t all about us. We encourage finding ways to serve, we encourage participating in civic processes, we encourage being informed, and we encourage voting. What that violent and hateful mob did yesterday at the capital was a direct assault on the rights of citizens to vote and shape our government.
Our country has a proud history of peaceful protest. Citizens have a right to peaceful protest. But there was nothing peaceful about what happened yesterday. There are other protests throughout our history that have turned violent too. I condemn all violence. But what was so egregious about yesterday’s violence was the fact that it was perpetrated in an effort to overturn an election.
There was nothing noble or brave about what these rioters did. Their actions were essentially a coup attempt against our country. These people do not have our country’s best interests at heart. They fly American flags but have no ideas what those flags truly represent. They change “We the People,” but then try to overturn the votes of a majority of the country’s people. They are more loyal to one man than they are to our Constitution.
Remember, elected officials and our military do not swear an oath to the president or even the Congress. They swear an oath to the Constitution. In America we are not ruled by men or women, we are ruled by law. Men and women come and go but our laws remain. When we forget this, we forget what America is all about. When are naïve enough to trust one man more than we are to trust the entire electorate, then we’ve forgotten the value of democracy.
An unbelievable, almost overwhelming amount of misinformation is swirling throughout social media right now. Please be thoughtful and judicious in discerning truth from fiction. And here’s the truth: there is no evidence of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election. This was a free and fair election. Trump lost. You might think that’s good. You might think that’s bad. Either view is your right to have. Hopefully you voted and therefore officially expressed your views. But there’s no credible reason to think this wasn’t a free and fair election. Now it’s time for a peaceful transition to the new administration. You might be excited for the new administration. You might be dreading it. Again, either view is your right. In a democratic republic sometimes your views gain power, and other times you have to preserver in the minority until the next election.
I love this country. I aspire to be the best citizen I can be. I hope you do too. And I’m certain the mob at the capital yesterday has no idea what citizenship is all about. I condemn their actions in the strongest possible terms, and I hope you will to.
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