It has been 800 years since King John signed the Magna Carta, the document that gave our forebears the right to petition, the writ of habeas corpus, and due process; followed by a Democratic Republic, free markets, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Nevertheless, this long list of courageous men and women had to defeat many enemies of freedom along the way: wars led by megalomaniacs, plagues, pandemics, civil wars, racism, sexism, lies, authoritarianism, hatred, and injustices. Today, we are still a long way from our ideal nation where liberty and justice for all prevails. Still, the Statue of Liberty who oversees New York harbor is a tired but proud lady. She welcomes the many who come to our shores with hopes of attaching their honor and their trust to a legacy and a heritage that are still emerging. We are an imperfect nation where approximately 70 percent of all who live here honor our past, we have kept the faith with our forebears, and we are determined to carry the torch of freedom far into the future. Yet, despite the 800 years of progress marked by blood sweat, and tears, all that is now under attack.

Today, we have a different enemy. They are everywhere within our borders. They look like us, act (more or less) like us, but their minds have been soaked in a poison that has stolen their souls. They are the walking dead, consumed by a deadly substance known as ignorance. This evil portends consequences as unwelcome as any that has ever disgraced the pages of history.

Ignorance is the bane of humanity. It is the opposite of freedom. The 30 percent of humanity who bow down to it cannot accept progress. Instead, they would drag the rest of us back into the abyss where ignorance flourishes. Their leaders are extremists who mock facts, justice, and goodwill. They also detest science, logic, and experience. They lie, cheat, steal, and chase excessive wealth for personal advantages that arise from greed. They pierce our souls while trying to drag us back to the Dark Ages to the worst form of government: authoritarianism. They cannot deal with facts or progress, love or understanding. They rely of cheating, lying, stealing, racism, ethnic cleansing, the Big Lie, and anything necessary to defeat their adversary: Their adversary is us.

Across the land they reject vaccinations and masks in favor of servitude to a false reality told by thugs within their ranks. They choose ignorance over enlightenment; death over freedom. And their god is but an overweight ignoramus who cheats, lies, steals, and has not the slightest concern for anyone but himself. And now with sappy-eyed ignorance they support rigged elections, and insurrections, while rejecting the past 800 years of blood, sweat, and tears; of honor and valor, while they give up their souls to a false god. But we will not let them take us down with them. They can neither remember nor respect the past, so they are condemned to repeat its failures. Now they must live with the consequences of their choices.

We are the 70 percent who care about our past, our heritage, and our honor. We support education, science, the scientific method, and healthy inhabitants. We believe in fair play, a far better distribution of wealth and income by allocating it among those who created it. We also believe in a Living Wage, and a fair election system based on “one person, one vote.” We support science and valid investigations, combined with answers that are accurate, reliable, and with demonstrable usefulness.

And so, first we will defeat them, then we will pity them before we bury them. We will pray that Providence will release their souls from the shackles of lies, false promises, and the deadliest of all sins—ignorance.