A basic principal of our democracy is the concept of un-coerced political affiliation and representation. History is replete with examples of peoples being openly and subtly forced to follow the party line in violation of their personal, professional, social and religious values and ethics.
It is my right and my personal privilege to choose the party or parties that I wish to follow and to work to support the candidate of my own choice, without the interference of others.
You can then imagine my surprise yesterday evening when my wife returned from work and asked me if we had changed our party affiliation and our value system. She asked me this because sometime in the hour before, either Rep. Duane Bourdeaux or one of his supporters come onto my property without permission and implanted a sign in my front yard proclaiming that I support him as a representative of the Democratic Party in District 23.
I do not support Duane Bourdeaux, nor do I support his political party. As a state licensed social worker and a child therapist, I come down firmly for the rights of children: their right to live and flourish, and not to be "aborted' by a mother who is choosing the convenience of her own life over the responsibilities of being a parent.
As an 18-year veteran of the United States Army Reserve, I do not support Rep. Duane Bourdeaux or his party or the way his party's highest representatives have cut the world's greatest armed forces to the bone, leaving us on shaky legs with overextended, unfocused missions.
He and his supporters have done more than trample on my personal liberty; he's disparaged the rights of and liberty of every citizen of this nation and community that believes that freedom of political choice is within their own purview and not controlled by others, or by him.
Joel Wendel
Salt Lake City