San Angelo Standard Times, By Congressman Pfluger, Click HERE to read the original article.

On Wednesday, I sat in the crowd at the 59th Presidential Inauguration. It was an absolute honor to represent the people of the 11th District of Texas among the leaders of our Republic as we exercised the central tenant of our form of government: the peaceful transition of power.

I listened as newly sworn-in President Joe Biden spoke of America being a good nation of great people—a nation of unity and progress. Unfortunately, his first actions in office suggest he believes just the opposite.

We all want unity in our country, but we cannot ignore the record and rhetoric of Biden and his Leftist base – many of whom spent the last four years condemning America as evil at its core and doing everything in their power to polarize our country, shame conservatives into silence, and above all, destroy the legacy of President Trump.

In his Inaugural Address, Biden called for an end to domestic terrorism. Yet, he refused to denounce the terrorism and violent rioting we saw all year in Seattle, Portland, and New York. It was a glaring omission.

I was pleased to hear Biden address joblessness and economic growth. However, as soon as he arrived in the Oval Office, he signed orders that single-handedly killed off thousands of jobs created by the Keystone XL pipeline and recommitted the U.S. to the costly China-first Paris Climate Accord. His vow to make our country stronger and more prosperous stands in complete opposition to his extreme policy proposals that will undermine national security and degrade our economy.

President Biden called for us to see each other not as adversaries, but as neighbors. That is certainly how I conduct myself; I only wish for that same standard to be upheld by many on the Left who are now vowing personal and professional revenge on President Trump, his staff, supporters, and those of us with conservative values.

He went on to encourage civility in politics and the right to peacefully dissent. Unfortunately, prominent online platforms for civil discourse have been censoring and silencing conservatives outright. Almost overnight, we saw Big Tech giants wipe out a booming social media company with millions of users, most of whom were Trump supporters and conservatives. There can be no dissent if we cannot speak without being cancelled.

Biden spoke about America as the land of opportunity and security, but instead he plans to shackle small businesses with an unbearable minimum wage hike that will raise prices for consumers and kill jobs by forcing companies to make do with fewer workers.

He spoke about ‘repairing our alliances’ abroad, but I fear this means a return to the apologetic Obama-era foreign policy. No longer America first, but America is sorry.

President Biden’s message of unity, opportunity, and civility is one that all Americans can and should rally behind, but the seventeen executive actions that he signed on the first day undermine the conservative ideals that this country holds dear.

The United States is the greatest country the world has ever known. I am praying for our country and all of our leaders, and I truly hope that we can work together towards the betterment of our Nation. Today, I call on President Biden to make good on his promise for unity and civility for all Americans.