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Opinion
The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
News / Opinion / Letters to the Editor

Letter: No right to riot

By Peter L. Williamson, VANCOUVER
Published: November 23, 2016, 6:00am

The elections are over. We witnessed reasons why the Electoral College was created. For those of present, contemporary public education, it was created because America’s founders feared that large urban centers would dominate governance through sheer number, nullifying the vote of less-urban citizens.

Now we have hordes of people who don’t accept the election results and take to the streets to “protest”; disrupting lives, destroying property, harassing and harming anyone who disagrees with their methods. This methodology represents the primary goals of “community organizers” such as the late Saul Alinsky. It’s doubtful that today’s high school graduates are aware that Hillary Clinton based her master’s thesis on Alinsky. By the way, President Obama subscribed to Alinsky’s methods while working as a “community organizer.”

So what’s my point? The abject failure of our public education. After decades of teaching our Constitution and laws are “living” documents and need to be revised to suit the day’s trend, we have a revisionist view of history, literature and daily life. The “Oh, gosh, you can’t write, read or say anything deemed offensive and Heaven forbid someone gets elected that you don’t agree with” society featured in George Orwell’s novel “1984.”

People have the right to protest. They don’t have the right to riot. Use your representatives in Congress, Senate and state representatives.

We encourage readers to express their views about public issues. Letters to the editor are subject to editing for brevity and clarity. Limit letters to 200 words (100 words if endorsing or opposing a political candidate or ballot measure) and allow 30 days between submissions. Send Us a Letter

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