OPINION:
This past week I stumbled across a letter written by an anonymous Freedom Convoy trucker. I copied and reposted it, with nothing but this additional caption, “I’ll stand with these guys over the beltway buffoons any day of the week! #ProudTruckDriversSon.” The result was over 97,000 “likes” on my Facebook page.
Here’s what the letter said (with some minor editing).
“Hello everyone.”
“We made it to Thunder Bay today. I have a hard time finding words to express the momentum of this convoy. It is 100 kilometers long and growing all the time. The support we’ve received is overwhelming.”
“Coming into Winnipeg yesterday was quite emotional. The CB radios went pretty quiet because no one could find words to express what we felt. There were people packed on the shoulders of the streets. We saw parked cars for miles and miles on the ring road around the city. The horns never stopped honking! On the four-lane highway going out of Winnipeg, we thought it was hammer-down-time but we ended up driving 5 to 20 kilometers an hour for hours and hours.”
“People had campfires going in the ditches. There were fireworks, sprayers, and boom trucks out with big thank you banners waving from the booms. There were crane trucks with signs, lights flashing, and flags. The four-lane highway had cars packed bumper to bumper along the shoulders. Overpasses were crowded with tons of families and little kids all bundled up. Everyone was jumping, dancing, waving flags and flashlights. And all in minus 30 degrees. Seeing how happy the kids are with their smiles makes you a little emotional at times. This is how Canada is supposed to be.”
“This morning, as we were going into Ontario, the support was amazing. All the same things were happening from the laneways to the crossroads to the little towns we went through. We were constantly speeding up and slowing down for all sorts of groups and people. I felt like I was cheating with the adaptive cruise.”
“When we came to Thunder Bay, they had a big area plowed off. Tons of tents were put up. There were big fires and an insane amount of food. Beef on the bun, spaghetti, sandwiches, coffee, donuts, and you name it. They brought pallets of windshield washer fluid for everyone.”
“Very humbling how kind everyone is. This is what freedom feels like. I feel normal for once, not alone like the last two years. Thanks for all the support. It is much appreciated!! Well, I’m hitting the hay. Cheers. Thanks.”
That’s it — an honest letter written by an honest man. No anger. No victimization. No vitriol.
I simply reposted a simple note from a thankful truck driver — a man much like my own dad — and I received over 97,000 likes for doing so!
Why?
Why would this post get so much attention?
Well, maybe it’s because people are tired. Tired of being lied to about everything from gain-of-function research to the efficacy of lockdowns, social distancing and masks.
Maybe it’s because we are tired of being told by Dr. Anthony Fauci, a man who fancies himself the very personification of science, that we are “morons” simply because we’ve noticed that the evidence does not support his science.
Maybe it’s because we are tired of seeing those who consider themselves our rulers flaunting the very rules they use to rule us: Men like California Gov. Gavin Newsom going maskless when he forces all others to mask; women like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez standing cheek to cheek in a posh bar while telling everyone else to stand six feet apart when we go to McDonald’s; progressives partying at their exclusive clubs while they tell conservatives we can’t go to church.
Maybe it’s because we are tired of being called cultists by the likes of Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s only because we refuse to join their cult.
Maybe it’s because we’re tired of being called “deplorable rubes” every time we simply say we’d prefer personal freedom to ideological fascism and government overreach.
Or maybe it’s because we are tired of hearing naked little emperors like Justin Trudeau calling us “racists,” “homophobes,” and “bigots” just because we dared to notice that his behind is exposed as he preens and prances at the head of his smug parade.
I don’t know for sure why my post got 97,000 likes, but maybe it’s because there are 97 million or more hardworking, honest men and women like my dad who are tired: tired of being insulted, tired of being lied to, tired of being betrayed, tired of being demeaned and tired of being told to just shut up and get in line.
Maybe we’ve reached a tipping point. Pray God, may it be so.
• Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host. He is the author of “Not a Daycare: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth” (Regnery) and, most recently, “Grow Up: Life Isn’t Safe, But It’s Good.”
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