James Maxson, Minot

I’m not naive enough to believe that my opinions will change many minds. Preconceived ideas are alive and well. Some believe that January 6th was merely the expression of opinion. That is true of those who never assaulted law enforcement officers, who never vandalized our nation’s capitol, and never entered it illegally. The problem I had with January 6th was that it became violent. Violence does have its place in the world. My own father was a participant in violence on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal in 1942-1943. Unlike his son who was a medical corpsman and never left the United States, he was in the infantry. The tool of his trade was not socratic debate, but a 50-caliber machine gun.

Thanks to his sacrifice, his son was able to help resolve conflicts in a nonviolent manner in state and federal courts here in North Dakota. Our court system is far from perfect. Judges and lawyers are human beings with personality flaws just like the rest of the human race. That said, I challenge any readers to name a better system. If America is so flawed, why do people risk their lives to come here? Are people risking their lives to go to Russia and China? If America is so flawed, name a country doing it better.

I practiced law in this region for over 45 years. I am lucky to have lived a life of nonviolent conflict resolution. My father was not so lucky. My uniform was a tailored suit in air-conditioned court rooms and the floor of the state senate. His was uniform was sweaty and in a mosquito-infested jungle full of people trying to kill him. It would be sinful to not respect the difference. We won the lottery by being born in America. Domestic violence is a good way to screw it up.