You can voice your opinion, but the organization cannot promote any political campaign or a political party. Our organization is to remain neutral where political parties are concerned. We have members who are Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Constitution etc. and just because there may be more membership of one party than another, that does not condone the party with smaller numbers receiving less respect. We will show to all our members respect. Our goals and mission is to address illegal immigration, which has a negative impact on all of us, regardless of our political affiliation. The old SOS became very political and at times pitted members against each other and cohesiveness for the cause was affected. This does not mean that we must abide by some form of political correctness, not at all. But there is always more than one way to skin a cat as the saying goes, and we must respect others opinions as to their way of achieving our goals.
Thinking back I remember sharing a ride with one of our members who was very active in the movement, but he felt very strongly that business owners shouldn't be held responsible for knowing if an employee was an illegal. Most of us would surely disagree with his point of view. But this member did a great deal of work for the cause, and sadly because others disagreed with him on political issues (Chelene) and a few other issues, he is no longer active. It was a great loss to us. On another ride to a protest I had another member really jumped down my throat for even suggesting that both political parties are to blame for our mess. She is no longer with us, but may still be active somewhere else. I have enough commitment to the cause that I did not bough (not sure if that's how that is spelled) out, but if you had been there and had seen how I was attacked by this person, (and OL you were there) you'd know that a lot of people wouldn't take that abuse. We will not abuse each other because of a difference of opinion, period!
We all know that when something is written as opposed to being heard on the phone or in person, some of the emphasis is misunderstood or lost and the meaning can be misinterpreted. Please give each other the benefit of the doubt and try to clarify with respect. We all have invested our time and that is a value to all of us.
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