Dear Editor: Equality, liberty, and justice for all?

Dear Editor,

I recently read an article published by foxnews.com where Florida governor Ron DeSantis slams woke Disney. I also watched a PBS NewsHour segment where Governor DeSantis stated that Florida is where woke goes to die. So, what is woke? Woke may be defined as: “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social injustice)” (Merriam-Webster 2017). Governor DeSantis general counsel, Ryan Newsome, when asked what woke means stated in a recent trial that “It would be the belief that there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them” (Florida Politics, 12/3/2022, para. 9).

Why would politicians promote anti-woke policies which prevent elector awareness of facts and issues? Maybe their opinions and ideology lack substance, so they attempt to bury opposing opinions with restrictions, name-calling, derogatory statements, theatre, and misinformation to influence the vote of an unaware populist. Woke restrictions could very well morph into constraints on basic rights, and maybe even raise a call to suspend portions of the constitution. Equality, liberty, and justice for all? Apparently not in Florida.

Sincerely,

Don Lepinsky

Whitehall, Montana