Keeping Each Other Safe

I remember our community in action: the Angel Tree at St. John’s Episcopal Church that ensured every child had a gift; collecting food for Tri-Area Ministries; and gathering coats, mittens, and shoes for neighbors who needed help through the cold months.

As a Boy Scout, I built cars for the Pinewood Derby and raced them at the Wake Forest Community House—the same place where my rock band in high school performed on several occasions. I learned to swim at the town pool. Every summer, I’d spend hours at the library on White Street, and when spring came, we had Meet in the Street downtown. And who could forget Hot Hoops—the 3-on-3 basketball tournament that brought everyone together year after year?

It was such a blast growing up here. It still is, if we keep that spirit alive.

We owe it to each other, to our families, to those who came before us, and to the generations coming after us—to get this right. Even with all the noise nationally and in Raleigh, we can protect and respect one another right here at home.

My deep commitment to safety and unity was forged during my ten years in the U.S. Navy, where I led special reconnaissance operations, and later as a civilian intelligence professional on deployments to places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Those experiences were a real-time lesson in what happens when a society fractures along sectarian lines. Watching division dismantle communities abroad cemented one belief above all else: we can’t let that kind of fracture take root here in Wake Forest. At home and overseas, the authoritarian playbook is the same: stoke resentment and contempt, pit neighbors against one another, and use the chaos to consolidate power—to rule without heart and dictate how the rest of us live.

We won’t accept that in Wake Forest.

This town deserves safety—real safety—the kind that comes not just from laws or policies, but from people. From neighbors who check in on each other. From folks who can disagree without dehumanizing. From a shared belief that everyone here is part of the delicate web that keeps us all secure.

Safety comes from respect—for our Constitutional rights, our human dignity, and our freedom to live, love, worship, and work without fear. It means standing up for our neighbors, not turning them into targets. It means knowing that government, whether state or federal, has no place telling us who we can love, how we can pray, or what we can do with our own time and conscience.

This respect needs to show up everywhere—at town meetings, online, and in our daily lives. We can’t allow political disagreements to escalate into harassment, whether that means showing up at someone’s home, following them at the grocery store, or intimidating them online. Such tactics are hallmarks of authoritarian behavior and have absolutely no place in Wake Forest. We must choose coexistence over conflict and decisively reject sectarianism and extremism of any kind.

This is not abstract. New research from Princeton University shows a sharp rise in threats and harassment targeting local officials in recent years. Their interviews with local leaders also highlight what works: clear, cross-partisan condemnation of threats; practical steps to reduce doxxing and protect privacy; and community support that keeps our civic space open and safe. We can model that here—together.

We can take care of each other right here. We’ve done it before. We know how.

Sectarianism tears communities apart—I’ve seen it with my own eyes. But unity, empathy, and decency? Those things build something stronger than any division can destroy.

Let’s keep each other safe. Let’s honor what made this place special in the first place. Let’s be good neighbors.

Because Wake Forest matters—and so does every one of us.

Y’all means all. That’s the spirit of it.