Readers Write: Democracy, the Second Amendment, ICE shooting videos

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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In a healthy democracy, disagreement is normal. But one thing a nation cannot survive without is trust in its own government. When citizens can no longer rely on leaders or institutions to tell the truth, the foundation of America begins to crack.

That erosion is happening in plain sight. We see attempts to sanitize history by removing references to slavery and rewriting textbooks. We’re told Jan. 6 was a “day of love,” even though the country watched the violence live. We’re asked to doubt what we saw in cases like the killing of Renee Good or listen to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisting we didn’t hear President Donald Trump confuse Iceland and Greenland. The White House digitally alters images to push a narrative against activist Nekima Levy Armstrong. And after the widely recorded execution of Alex Pretti, we’re told he brandished a gun and attacked federal immigration agents when the footage clearly shows otherwise.

These aren’t isolated mistakes. They form a pattern meant to make people question their own eyes and accept whatever version of reality is politically convenient.

A society cannot function like this. When truth becomes optional, a nation loses its shared foundation. Democracies don’t collapse overnight. They fade when leaders decide accuracy doesn’t matter and citizens are told to ignore what they know is real.

If we can’t trust our government to speak truthfully and act transparently, America as we know it cannot endure. The only safeguard left is a public that insists facts matter, even when they’re uncomfortable. Because once the lie becomes the point, democracy has already begun to slip away.

For as long as I can remember, Second Amendment advocates have supported the need for assault weapons as a safeguard in case government agents were to descend upon their communities, invade their homes without warrants and confiscate their weapons. Their argument was that they could repel government invaders because of their Second Amendment right to bear arms. While I was mostly skeptical of this argument, at least it demonstrated that these folks understood it was wrong for masked paramilitary forces to invade their communities, and it suggested they were willing to defend their neighbors against tyranny.

But now I hear nothing from these Second Amendment patriots about the invasion of Minnesota communities by masked ICE paramilitaries. If I hear anything at all, it’s something like, “Just comply and you won’t get shot.” That sounds a lot like saying, just give in to the bully or the rapist and it will go away. Would these same Second Amendment patriots “just comply” as armed thugs invaded their homes? Was all that talk nothing more than fake bravado?

Here’s a hypothetical: What would they do if Gov. Tim Walz transformed the State Patrol into a masked paramilitary force and instructed them to surge into parts of the state that hadn’t voted for him — ordering them to profile white people who looked like they might be carrying weapons?

We need support from our fellow Minnesotans who are not currently being harassed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Right now, Republican politicians are putting party over decency and parroting the party line. Do you also put party before your fellow Minnesotans? Do you care that citizens protesting peacefully are being roughed up and harassed? Do you care that two citizens — a mother and a nurse — have been killed by immigration officers? Does it bother you that this performative cruelty is targeting Minnesota because we voted against the orange bully?

Because if the shoe were on the other foot — like in the Walz example above — I can tell you without a doubt that I, and many of your fellow Minnesotans from Minneapolis and other cities, would absolutely stand with you and protest against such tyranny. You may be annoyed by some of our excesses (pronouns, obsessions with race and gender, etc.), but we are good people, motivated by kindness, compassion and justice.

Ryan Pulkrabek, Minneapolis

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The current administration’s use of federal immigration enforcement to intimidate its own citizens should alarm every American. Armed agents patrolling our cities in ways that raise serious constitutional concerns is not a sign of strength, it is a sign of a government willing to use fear as a political tool.

There is painful irony here. Many who have long championed their Second Amendment rights supported this administration with the belief that it would protect them from government overreach. Instead, they are now witnessing something they never imagined: a Republican administration using force against unarmed civilians in the streets of American cities.

To my friends in rural communities, I say this with urgency and respect: Do not assume this will stop at the city limits. History shows that when a government becomes comfortable using intimidation against some, it rarely stops there. Today, the targets may be Black and brown Americans and those who stand with them. Tomorrow, it may be anyone who dares to dissent.

If we want to change course, it will take more than frustration; it will take action. Rural Americans have enormous influence with the Republican members of Congress who represent them. Those lawmakers need to hear clearly and consistently that their constituents expect them to uphold the Constitution, check abuses of power and hold the administration accountable. Phone calls, letters and peaceful demonstrations remain the most effective tools citizens have to remind elected officials whom they serve.

This is not a partisan plea. It is a call to defend the rights and liberties that belong to all of us. I urge my rural neighbors to stand with their urban friends in demanding accountability before more damage is done.

Our freedoms depend on it.

R.J. Devick, Maple Grove

The Minnesota Star Tribune carried an article the other morning that burns my toast. The writer of “Take a break from ICE videos,” writes, “Social media has enabled us to vicariously witness many harrowing scenes … . This secondhand exposure to violence takes a toll.” The tenor of the article seems to decry the damage to mental health of the numerous videos of federal agents indiscriminately accosting citizens to the point of killing them for the unforgivable crime of bearing witness.

Joel Friedman, Eagan

There is a photo on the front page of the Jan. 25 paper of immigration agents. One of them is wearing a stocking hat, jeans, a red hoodie, what looks like a gas mask and carrying some kind of weapon. This is a federal agent? Have they been hired and “trained” in such haste that they can’t be outfitted properly? Or is this “agent” a civilian who wants in on the action? No one should be surprised if that’s what this person is. This operation is truly out of control.