President Abraham Lincoln might have lived 150 years ago, but he made an appearance in Opelika on Saturday morning.
He was among more than a dozen local residents who gathered at the Lee County Courthouse Square for the third "Gathering of Patriots — Tax-Day Tea Party."
T. Speir, an organizer of the event, said members of the Concerned Americans of Lee County and East Alabama Patriots gathered to show their concern for what is going on in Washington and Montgomery.
“This is a gathering of patriots,” she said. “We want people to gather together and realize that we’re not Republicans. We’re not Democrats. We’re not Libertarians. We’re Americans. And if Americans don’t stand up for this country, what they’re doing in Washington, what they’re doing in Montgomery is going to destroy us rapidly.”
Speir, wearing a “Don’t Tread on Me” shirt, said she doesn’t care for the current administration.
“Our government is no longer of the people, by the people, for the people,” she said. “We have a government that is taken over by people who wish to do nothing more than serve their own cause.”
Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker and former candidate for state Senate District 28 Dr. Kim West spoke during the event.
Tallassee resident Lyn James, dressed as President Lincoln, recited the Gettysburg Address.
“In the comparison of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860s and the present, we have a very, very definite parallel,” he said. “In the ’60s, we were divided by economics, politics and the right to be free. We are presently in the same, identical situation. We are still fighting desperately now to be free men. Our rights are being taken away from us.”
Opelika resident Christine Adkins said she came out to the square Saturday to express her concern about the direction in which the country is going.
“I just think it’s going to take a miracle to get it (the country) back on track, and I don’t know what we can do other than what we’re dong here today,” she said.
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