Ken Weeks: Vote against extremists of all brands in September and November

To The Daily Sun,

I am an unaffiliated voter. Why? I humbly agree with President George Washington, who said, “The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.” As a former (relatively) senior naval officer, although long retired now, I also humbly agree with all that Samuel P. Huntington wrote in “The Soldier and the State” regarding civilian control of the military and the obligation of military officers to steer clear of politics and the formulation of policy. So, I’m in the natural habit of remaining relatively apolitical.

But then there is this oath, this pesky oath, oaths don’t seem to matter to some these day; oaths are not expedient or convenient. But I believe in mine, and mine goes like this, “I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

Not to put too fine a point on it, but to most reasonable folks, extremists of any brand are potential domestic enemies of the citizens of our towns, our county, our state, and our country. In the face of this, I just can’t remain apolitical. I will exercise my right to vote against extremists no matter if they are "Right-wing nut jobs” or “Left-wing radical socialists” or any other label that popular culture bandies about with uninformed impunity. Vote against extremists of all brands in September and November.

Ken Weeks

Gilford