Warren County Democratic Committee Chair eager to tackle local community issues

As the new chair of the Warren County Democratic Committee, I am eager to tackle the many local issues testing our community. For instance, we must make sure our teachers have the support and resources they need to provide a great education to every kid, regardless of zip code or family income. (I see you, Governor Youngkin, drumming up mistrust in teachers and laying the groundwork to funnel tax dollars to charter schools.)

I would also like to consider how sustainable growth in Warren County can drive tourism to small businesses and protect our natural resources. I want to talk about how we can support workers’ rights by getting the word out on Hershey’s employees organizing a union. All of this matters.

There is a lot to talk about locally – and our committee will be laser-focused on having these conversations and helping elect Democrats in our district. (Now I’m looking at you, Ben Cline, and wondering if your partisan vote against the infrastructure bill and the jobs that come with it has revealed to people how little you care about working families.)

Yet despite all we can and must consider here in the valley, today my mind is on a conflict unfolding across the globe. Some would say it is not our concern, except I believe the invasion of Ukraine is a test of our character and patriotism. Here in America, we bristle at the idea of being told what to do, even when the advice is reasonable. The concept of freedom is central to our outlook, but when given the chance to support the democracies of our Ukrainian and European allies, some media pundits and politicians instead downplay the risks of Putin’s authoritarianism.

I am just old enough to remember the end of the Cold War and how my conservative family felt about the threat the Soviet Union posed to democracy. Putin was merely a ruthless KGB operative back then, but as president of today’s Russia, he has demonstrated again and again that his contempt for democratic principles has been growing since the USSR splintered. His love of power is only matched by his contempt for us.

This is a test of whether Americans value democracy more than they detest folks on the other end of the political spectrum. I have an optimistic belief that most of us don’t feel the hostility toward our neighbors that comes across in the media. So, will we let partisanship pollute our understanding of what’s at stake in Ukraine? Will Americans side with the thug in the Kremlin over the interests of our allies? The battlegrounds may be smoldering thousands of miles away, but the battle lines are being drawn now in our backyard by Vlad’s American fanboys.

Many are thinking about the cost of energy and how Russia’s actions will impact it. Particularly for folks who commute, this is a big and understandable concern. Others will go so far as to say that our stance against Russia’s invasion makes the inevitable increase in gas prices our fault. The economy cannot be extricated from this discussion entirely, but I know that high prices come and go, while the damage is done to our democracy by allowing partisanship to trump patriotism is a cost we cannot withstand. The destruction of America by its own hands has been Vladimir Putin’s dark dream and sustained strategy for decades. Sadly, he has allies here at home.

We must come together because freedom itself is on the line if Putin and his ilk consolidate more power at the expense of sovereign nations. That power is found in the artillery landing on Ukraine but also exists in spoiling the American experiment by keeping us at each other’s throats. When anyone tries to convince us that Putin is on the right side of this fresh and bloody war – so savvy, such genius – they are handing us the wrong answer.

America, this is one test we must ace together.

Paul Miller
Front Royal, Virginia