10/27/2021
Dear Editor of the Messenger,
I see a great deal of pearl-clutching over the state of discourse in Perrysburg. "What's happening in our town?" one letter to the editor asks.
What's happening is that many taxpayers, parents, and residents are fed up. We are sick of being treated like the city's cash cows. We are tired of wondering what we get in exchange. We are tired of wondering how long we can afford to live in Perrysburg at all.
What's happening is that many of us are tired of letting our opinions, wishes, and rights get bulldozed because we are too nice and polite to raise a fuss. A sizable portion of Perrysburg residents are tired of feeling unrepresented, unheard, and pushed aside for the sake of political agendas and ambitions. We are tired of being dismissed as divisive, ignorant, or misinformed, when we express our concerns and assert our natural rights and responsibilities, and fail to show the proper level of respect for those who clearly see themselves as our betters.
What's happening is that, thanks to the school system's own COVID-19 policies, more children have been learning at home. As a result, parents are more aware than ever of what their children are learning, and many of them are not happy with what they see. They are concerned about the values (or lack thereof) in the classroom, physical or virtual. And they are certainly tired of being told that certain ideas are higher-level academic theories and they needn't worry their pretty little heads about them. Why, such theories are reserved for the academics, the intellectuals, the experts, and not something for us mere peasants to concern ourselves with.
What's happening, in short, is that many Perrysburg residents are tired of the status quo. We are speaking up, and predictably being criticized by those who wish we would stay quiet. They are somehow baffled that taxpayers are concerned about the city's spending and that parents care about what their children learn in school. They acc use us of making things political.
But if an issue is decided by vote and implemented by elected officials, they are, by nature, political. But they are not really offended that an issue is political. They are offended that people who disagree with them are making their opinions known and may actually influence the outcome.
As one of those discontented Perrysburg residents who is tired of meekly standing by while the city spends into oblivion and tramples parents' rights, I am choosing to support David Desser and Laura Meinke at the polls this year.
Emily Rudnik
