In a few weeks, people will be going to the polls to choose the future of this country. I am a very passionate supporter of Gary Johnson and of freedom in general. Three years ago, after 35 years of living in a small town in Maine, I uprooted and moved to Lebanon as part of the Free State Project. That was no small effort, but drastic times call for drastic measures.
I have no delusions about the election. Freedom and the American public will take it on the chin, and Clinton or Trump will most likely be elected. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t have hope. The following people are running for president: Jill Stein, Chris Keniston, Evan McMullin, Darrell Castle, Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson, Donald Trump. My wish is that the voters go to the polls and pick who they actually support. If that’s Gary Johnson, I couldn’t be happier! I’m glad to hear that they are on the side of freedom. If it isn’t, but they actually believe in the integrity and the prospective policies of their choices, I applaud them, too.
If, however, they are compromising by choosing the “lesser of two evils” or they are picking based on what the media says, I beg that they do us all a favor and stay home. Given the fact that there are at least seven people running, no person should have to shoehorn his or her principles into the narrow dogma of either the Republican or Democratic parties. They are both remarkably similar and, in my opinion, they are responsible for the ever-declining condition of the American government.
This country’s founders had to be willing to face bullets and charges of treason to make a change. All we have to do is have the courage to cast a vote for a person who doesn’t have a “D” or an “R” next to his name.
Brad Pelletier Lebanon
Election letters to the papers often sound like they were written by a machine, but believe me, this one is heartfelt. Susan Hatch Davis is amazing — to me the very model of what a state representative should be. She’s lived her whole life in this district (Corinth, Vershire, Orange, Williamstown, Chelsea, Washington) and knows its people inside and out, especially its working people — the ones who most need support. She listens to them, cares about them, and works unbelievably hard on their behalf.
But on top of all that, Davis understands what makes Vermont such a special place to live, and what will keep it that way in the future — unlike some of our more nearsighted politicians who apparently can see only as far as the next election.
Davis’ years of dedicated service have been a gift; I know of no candidate more deserving of our vote.
Dan Breslaw Corinth
If you are kinda racist, I understand why he may not seem to be all that racist.
If you are kinda sexist, I understand why he may not seem to be all that misogynistic.
If you are a bully (or wish you had what it takes to be a bully), I can understand why you might want a bully as president.
And if you feel cheated, I can almost understand why you would support someone who has profited so lavishly from cheating.
But I don’t understand one bit, if you’re at all honest, why he doesn’t seem to be a crook.
Michael Schorsch Orford
Most people would agree that 9/11 was the turning point of contemporary American life. But they would be divided into two groups. The majority believes that the attacks were planned by a rogue Muslim extremist. The minority doesn’t. I’m in that minority.
I think that it’s self-evident that buildings can’t be knocked down by airplanes. They can, however, be demolished by explosives. They can be rigged for demolition by insiders with access. I’ve been saying this same thing repeatedly for many years. In return, I get silence. I get avoidance and ridicule. But that’s all right. I’ll continue just the same. And if it should happen that I die before I see justice prevail, I may just have to come back and haunt this place.
Neil Meliment Hanover