Sommer: Democracy is the key to a strong U.S. economy
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Letter by Bob Sommer, co-owner of Changing Hands Bookstores
Dear editor: Many Americans can’t understand why the Russian people don’t stand up to Putin and his regime, demanding that he withdraws from Ukraine.
You would think that with over 25,000 Russian troops killed and the Russian economy tanking, many more Russians would speak up.
But autocratic countries like Russia control their citizens. They start with censorship, which is toxic to democracy.
Even if Russians did raise their voices in protest, no one could hear them. Only if they parrot the line that Putin is defending Russia, would they be allowed to share their views in public.
We already have politicians here pushing for censorship of journalists, libraries, bookstores, and classrooms — in an effort to subvert our democracy and bring us an autocracy of one-party rule like Russia. Bookstores like mine will be among the first to go as our democracy is slipping away.
Arizona voters need to understand that a strong democracy is essential for a government responsive to the will of the people and a vibrant entrepreneurial economy.
Small business owners know what happens under autocracy and one-party rule — any small business that is at all successful is a target for the taking by deep-pocketed corporations. Free enterprise dies and whole economies wither.
