Forever a Patriot

by Chubby

This is the best time of year to be a biker. Great weather, long days, and plenty of different events to attend every weekend, what more could a biker ask for? The Fourth of July is a special time for me, besides being my birthday; it’s a day I enjoy seeing everyone showing their patriotism. It seems that everyone is proud to be an American on the Fourth, and there’s never a lack of patriotic spirit. Unfortunately, these part time patriots fade away after the parades are done and the smoke from the fireworks blows away to clearly view the moon again. It makes me wonder how many people really understand what it means to be a patriot and the sacrifices our forefathers made to make sure we could all be proud to live in the United States of America. Can a nation remain strong when all the patriots are gone? When freedoms are taken away from us every day and still, we remain apathetic, are we truly free? At what point will we decide to be a part of what makes America great, instead of just being an American? If you are reading this, you are already doing something to protect your freedoms in Wisconsin. What will it take to make you step up and truly become a patriot?

Some may not agree, but I believe a patriot fights to protect everyone’s freedom of the road. Even if that means penalizing some drivers that believe being irresponsible is ok. Everyone close to me knows about the death of my good friend Jon in a right of way violation crash in September of 2007. Anyone that has experienced this type of loss can understand the anger and helplessness I felt over the situation. Like many right of way crashes involving motorcycles, Jon’s killer received a slap on the wrist even after my repeated efforts informing law enforcement and the courts of the enhanced penalties Act 466 gave them. ABATE of WI has made great efforts to ensure that right of way offenders get the punishment that they deserve. Even with the Covid “epidemic” our members have found ways to get our awareness message out. Unfortunately, our Share the Road instructors haven’t been as lucky with the schools, but I believe that is slowly changing even as I write this. We are continuing to monitor drivers education classes to make sure STR is part of their curriculum so if you know of any schools that are not teaching either ours or another form of motorcycle awareness in their classes, please let us know. If you haven’t seen it, we did make our voices heard regarding eliminating the road test for new drivers recently and are monitoring to make sure it is very temporary. We will keep everyone updated.

I believe most regional meetings are back on schedule this month and I hope you’ve taken the time to go to one near you. ABATE of WI did not stop working during the lockdown and is currently refining ways to continue to reach members if a “crisis” of this magnitude happens again. All the fancy tech gadgets that our marketing director has been encouraging us to use or look at, have been very beneficial lately and I hope some of our future trainings will include ideas of utilizing technology at the region level.

This seems to be a very pivotal time for our country and if you’re reading this, I will only guess that you plan on voting this fall. I encourage everyone to get involved in a campaign, donations are nice but giving time is priceless to politicians and inviting them to meetings and events where they can reach a larger number of people has always been appreciated. So, if you have a candidate that you support don’t forget to bring them to an ABATE meeting.

Although currently I’m not going to write about much of the civil unrest going on across the country regarding the infringement of civil rights of black people, I think it is a topic all of us should look at with an open mind and with some understanding. Many of us have had our civil rights infringed upon, and many more of us have been involved in protests to preserve and protect these rights. ABATE of WI began with one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in modern times and it makes me contemplate on how we might achieve such goals if we were trying the same thing today. I only have a few months left to have my own soapbox and you can expect me to bring this issue up again in a more detailed manor. I think right now the country could use a biker lesson in respect. If you truly are a patriot , how hard do you think you would fight to keep your civil liberties if they were trampled on?

In 1775, farmers, merchants, sailors, and tradesmen banded together to fight for their freedom. The Minutemen, probably America’s first patriots, were prepared to fight tyranny on a minute’s notice. Patriots like Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Paine gave up wealthy lifestyles to fight for the freedoms of all Americans and in doing so gave us the structure by which we are governed yet today. These original patriots gave no concessions or compromises in their struggle to become free. Individual freedoms became the precedent in our new country. How do you think these original patriots would think of the way our country is run today? Benjamin Franklin was once quoted as saying “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety”. These patriots were part of a brotherhood that still exists today. Because of this brotherhood they were able to achieve what no one man could do alone. Our brotherhood is a united voice for bikers no matter what machine they choose to ride. It’s up to you to decide if you want your voice heard. What will it take for you to stand up? As for me, I’ll be a patriot forever. Have a great Fourth of July and God bless America.

Until next month…Ride Free

Chubby