A True Political Hero For Our Times

Last month, we celebrated the birthday of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In life, he was a force of nature and a reckoning for the citizens of two separate Americas who could not reconcile their differences without fury and blood. And then, as a victim of that fury and in the crucible of that blood, he became a myth that resonates to this day.

That is what will happen to Alexei Navalny, if he does not leave that Moscow jail. His voice, powerful as it was even across the oceans, will become a constant crashing cymbal to those who want to listen, who care to pay attention and who cherish freedom. It motivated thousand and thousands all over the world to march with his name on their lips, demanding his freedom.

After the riots on Jan. 6, Democrats, politicians snapped into action. They sent out letters, they promised impeachment, they acted like protagonists of their own private Alamos with their claims of courage under fire. And they called for retribution, truth and "reconciliation."

They pointed fingers at people who did not celebrate the election of Joe Biden. Conservatives, even those who had been critical of Donald Trump, were in the glare of some pitiless klieg lights. They were outed, shamed, shunned and in some cases slandered.

Last week, the most powerful Democrat and third-most important person in the U.S. government, Nancy Pelosi, accused members of the GOP of being the "enemy within," poised to terrorize their Democratic colleagues in the House. The speaker did this with the support of many in her caucus and other progressives, like the petulant Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who all but accused Ted Cruz of trying to murder her.

It is extremely troubling that very few people on the left have stood up to criticize this dangerous rhetoric, and rail against the silencing of dissenting voices.

One who did stand up was Alexei Navalny, who opposed the social media ban on Trump and tweeted out, "In my opinion, the decision to ban Trump was based on emotions and political preferences. Don't tell me he was banned for violating Twitter rules. I get death threats here every day for many years, and Twitter doesn't ban anyone (not that I ask for it)."

That is a profile in political courage, knowing that words are not bullets. It is therefore not surprising that the man who shamed Americans for being intimidated by words is using them, fiercely, in defense of his own people.

And he is doing it from the depths of a prison cell. To me, Navalny is actually free, and my cowed and cowardly fellow citizens are the ones in invisible, philosophical chains.

Political heroes, past present and future, would surely agree.