OPINION: Republicans Report — “Resist”

Loru Yazdani is a first-year student, double majoring in music production and law enforcement. She is a member of the Ohio University College Republicans. The following article reflects the opinion and views of the author and does not represent the thoughts of the Ohio University College Republicans.

Please note that these views and opinions do not reflect those of The New Political.

The past couple of days I’ve passed a few cars that have “Resist” bumper stickers on them, and I couldn’t help but wonder what they’re resisting. They say they’re resisting the current presidency and its tyranny — but exactly what tyranny are they resisting?

Don’t they realize that, if we actually lived under a dictatorship, they wouldn’t be allowed to drive around with bumper stickers that say “Resist”? They wouldn’t be allowed to show any opposition to the ruling government.

They have every right to put those stickers anywhere they want and proudly and loudly resist the president. Which, nine times out of 10, is exactly what they do. So, again, do they realize that, under true tyranny, they would not be allowed to voice any opposition to the president?

Right now in Iran, the people are fighting desperately for their freedom and they are giving their lives in pursuit of that freedom. They’re unarmed and defenseless, but they’re still fighting because they think that death is better than life without freedom.

When was the last time you risked your life for speaking out against your government? In Iran, the government has ordered an internet blackout. When was the last time President Donald Trump ordered an internet blackout because of anti-Trump rallies and promises to have him impeached?

If Iran isn’t enough of an example, look at Hong Kong. Protestors have been fighting for democratic reform and against police brutality, but they’re fighting a losing battle. At the PolyU Campus in Hong Kong, students have held firm in their protests, but the authorities have traded words for force, and things have taken a violent and deadly turn. Protestors as young as 15 years old are risking their lives, but they feel that freedom is worth the risk.

Now compare that to the hundreds of protests we’ve had since Trump was elected. Trump has never turned the military on the protestors. He’s never threatened violence if the protests didn’t stop. He’s never used his power as a weapon against the people.

So, again, what are they resisting? I respect the right for anyone to resist anything they want, but I have no respect for people who call themselves “the resistance” when they aren’t resisting anything. The people who hold my respect are the ones who are currently risking their lives to fight for their freedom.

Protestors want to make history with their activism, but when they are freely marching against freedom, they are on the wrong side of history. The ones who will make history are the people who march — unarmed — against a government that sends tanks to run them over and guns to mow them down.

We’ve become a culture that is self-obsessed, narcissistic and addicted to victimhood. We want to have it worse than our neighbor because then we have a valid reason for hating life as much as we do. We have something to play on that will make people feel as sorry for us as we feel for ourselves.

We’ve lost the ability to empathize with others because we’re so caught up in our own emotions that we can’t step outside of them long enough to see the need of our fellow man. Instead of actually trying to make a difference we slap a flag filter on our profile photo, hashtag a post with some virtue-signaling hashtag and call it a day.

We want to call ourselves heroes but we’re nothing more than keyboard warriors and safe-space dwellers. If marching against the government or declaring our opinions really meant losing our freedom and even our lives, how many of us would really be willing to do that?

We think we’re strong and brave because we’ve grown up in a country that says that something as simple as our names can lead to discrimination. We think we’re heroes because we call ourselves champions of women’s rights by taking up causes that allow biological males to destroy women's sports. We think we’re so special in our fight for justice and reform.

What we really are is a people so bored in our freedom and ungrateful for our blessings that we are willing to create any cause to give us something to fight against. The only stipulations? The cause can’t be anything too big, the consequences can’t be real and there can’t be too much effort or time involved in it.

When we look at the rest of the world and the awful circumstances so many others live under, how are we not extremely thankful and blessed to live in this country?

I hope that we are always grateful for our opportunities, humble in our blessings and sincere with our freedom. If we ever take for granted the freedom that we have in this country, then we are in grave danger of letting it slip away from us. As former President Ronald Reagan once said: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”