Our Grange founders provided us a Declaration of Purposes for our organization that addressed a need for unity and civil discourse: “We shall constantly strive to secure harmony, good will, and brotherhood… We shall earnestly endeavor to suppress personal, local, sectional, and national prejudices… We desire a proper equality, and fairness; protection for the weak; restraint upon the strong; in short, justly distributed power.” These words still guide us today.
One does not merely join the Grange, but lives by the principles of faith, hope, charity and fidelity and loving their neighbor as themselves. We have a deep commitment to the freedoms of speech, expression and peaceful protest enshrined in our Constitution for all people. The Grange’s Declaration of Purposes also teaches us that “…difference of opinion is no crime. Progress toward truth is made by differences of opinion, while the fault lies in the bitterness of the controversy.” Therefore we urge everyone to exercise their individual rights of expression in a civil and respectful manner. Each day, law enforcement officers must uphold the law equally while exercising good judgment and compassion. Just as we do in each of our meetings, we must meet the peaceful expressions of various opinions with open ears and open hearts.