🫡 This 4th of July, I want to honor somebody who embodies the American spirit: Andrei Zeltser. Andrei was a father. A peaceful, reasonable man who was pushed to do unreasonable things. He was also an American IT worker in Belarus. For those unfamiliar, Belarus is a vassal state of Russia and a former member of the USSR. After establishing independence in 1994, the country had its only free and fair election, electing Alexander Lukashenko who has ruled the country ever since as an authoritarian dictator.
🤔 It's 2021, yet another "election" had been rigged for Lukashenko. Andrei knew the election was stolen and he would not be quiet. Everybody else knew too. But he had the courage to speak out: He posted on social media about it, and so the Belarusian KGB alleged his was a terrorist, showed up at his apartment, guns drawn, to take him from his family and throw him in prison. But Andrei knew what was coming. He was waiting for them, shotgun in his hand, camera on the wall, and took down as many of their goons as he could. He, of course, lost his own life in the process. It reminds me of the saying from Thomas Jefferson: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants". After the incident, the government arrested over 100 more people based on their social media commentary surrounding the incident. The video of the incident is below, viewer discretion is advised.
🌎 This story could be about most places on earth, with names and locations swapped. Approximately 50% of the global population lives under a dictatorship where a dissenting thought could land them in prison or worse. Freedom as we have come to know it in America is rare and exceptional, especially against the backdrop of history.
🇺🇸 Initial media reports described Andrei as an American, but the US government, perhaps for diplomatic reasons, was unable to confirm or deny it. But if he's not, he sure as hell deserves an honorary citizenship, there is nothing more American than standing up to tyrants. Freedom stems from the barrel of a gun. Never forget it.
✊ We remember you Andrei, rest in power. Freedom for the people of Belarus! And I hope one day the American experiment will be exported to every last nation on earth. We're already 50% done.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/pxodsv/belarusian_kgb_officers_in_front_of_the_family/#belarus #lukashenko #4thofjuly #america #freedom #freespeech 
