To the Editor:
Silence is one of the first ways a democracy can be destroyed. Rather than asking questions and demanding answers, people just clam-up.
I wrote a comment in response to a Letter to the Editor of LymeLine last week. Numerous people have thanked me for it, complimented me on the subject matter but none have wanted to (or dared to) put their names on public responses. I don’t blame them. We are living in a scary time when teachers, poll workers and librarians face threats if they just do their jobs.
Fear is being used to stop intelligent people from expressing themselves. Old Lyme is a community where many believe that keeping a low profile is the best policy but, at a time when our country is in jeopardy of losing its status as the world’s leading democracy, silence is not golden. Sadly, to remain silent is to be complicit with those who scare us.
My comment merely asked why the GOP candidates in our town do not tell us how they feel about their national party.
Do they concur that the Jan. 6th insurrection was merely a photo-shoot by tourists? Do they honestly believe that Donald Trump was cheated out of the Presidency and that voter fraud is rampant? Do they support our local librarians, teachers and poll workers.? Do they continue to support the former President even though he has been indicted four times for charges ranging from rape to mishandling of top secret documents? Are they as concerned about democracy as I am or do they feel fears about losing our democracy are just another conspiracy theory? Are they proud of their party … or are they ashamed of what their party (the party of my Grandparents) has become?
I don’t feel it is too much for candidates to address the elephant in the room. In this case, the elephant is the Republican Party. I cannot even consider voting for any local Republican until I hear his/her views on their party.
Sincerely,
Charlotte Scot,
Old Lyme.
Thank you, Charlotte, for making the elephant visible. I assume, unless they tell me differently, that keeping the R by their names indicates they believe at least some of the above and, consequently, they have lost even the possibility of my vote.
Great question, Charlotte. Transparency is the only way we can make informed decisions. I am looking forward to the responses you have invited.