I am going to use most of my 350-word allotment to quote a superb article by a Venezuelan-born economist named Andrés Miguel Rondon, who now lives in Spain. It should serve as a warning to us all. Or as a postmortem, if Trump turns out to be the disaster, and possibly the traitor, I believe him to be. Rondon compares Trump with Hugo Chavez. It is a tale of two dangerous populists.
“Donald Trump is an avowed capitalist; Hugo Chávez was a socialist with communist dreams. One builds skyscrapers, the other expropriated them. But politics is only one-half policy: The other, darker half is rhetoric. Sometimes the rhetoric takes over. Such has been our lot in Venezuela for the past two decades — and such is yours now, Americans. Because in one regard, Trump and Chávez are identical. They are both masters of populism.
“The recipe for populism is universal. Find a wound common to many, find someone to blame for it, and make up a good story to tell. Mix it all together. Tell the wounded you know how they feel. That you found the bad guys. Label them: the minorities, the politicians, the businessmen. Caricature them. As vermin, evil masterminds, haters and losers, you name it. Then paint yourself as the savior. Capture the people’s imagination. Forget about policies and plans, just enrapture them with a tale. One that starts with anger and ends in vengeance. A vengeance they can participate in.
That’s how it becomes a movement. There’s something soothing in all that anger. Populism is built on the irresistible allure of simplicity. The narcotic of the simple answer to an intractable question. The problem is now made simple.”
Food for thought.
A.E. Norton
Woodstock
Now that the war on coal is over, perhaps Trump can turn his attention to the war on sperm oil. It’s time to bring back whaling to New Bedford and Nantucket. Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!
Stephen Neirman
East Thetford
I write on behalf of the Upper Valley Land Trust in response to a March 31 Forum letter from Rusty Keith of Lyme wherein he makes the assertion that “thousands of neighboring taxpayers (current and future) … will have to pay for the action” of kind and generous individuals who made a significant gift of land to our organization. As highlighted in a recent Valley News article, this record gift of 1,100 acres provides significant benefits to both natural and human communities. More than half of the property is ranked as the highest-quality wildlife habitat in the state of New Hampshire, and it is a priority of state and local planning authorities to protect valuable habitat to support the continued success of the state’s wildlife populations and important ecological areas. Portions of the property include working farm and forest land that will remain in active use to benefit the local economy. All of the land is accessible by the public to enjoy these resources.
It is Mr. Keith’s misperception that land owned by a land trust or conservation entity is automatically removed from a town’s tax rolls. This is not true in general, nor for this particular parcel. Our organization intends to use any proceeds from agricultural and silvicultural activities on this property to build a fund to support future expenses and stewardship of the property, including taxes. Wherever possible, this is our practice and the practice of many other conservation entities in New Hampshire and Vermont. As Mr. Keith points out, rights of land ownership include the right to develop or protect land. Both options have permanent results. Together, they contribute to our community, keeping it healthy and productive, maintaining the quality of life we have come to appreciate in the Upper Valley.
Peg Merrens
Vice President, Conservation
Upper Valley Land Trust
Hanover
An article on March 29 stated that “The Mascoma Valley Regional High School community will hold a celebration of life to commemorate associate principal JoAnne Ladd.” The article mentioned Ms. Ladd had touched many lives. For some reason your staff also chose to inform her community she had been arrested for shoplifting last summer.
Why this was included in an article on “Mascoma to Honor Late Educator” is beyond my comprehension. Was this included to sensationalize the story, or was it to inform all the students in the community of Ms. Ladd’s mistake?
As a citizen who knew Ms. Ladd on a professional level, I am appalled this had to be included in your article. In my opinion you owe Ms. Ladd’s friends, family and the Mascoma community an apology.
Shame on you for your thoughtlessness.
Joan Laplante
Danbury, N.H.
I was sorry that the Associated Press report on the death of David Rockefeller (“David Rockefeller, Last of Generation in Family, Dies,” March 26) did not include mention of his long, interesting, well-written autobiography Memoirs, published in 2002.
Elizabeth Brackett
Hanover
Northern Stage in White River Junction just presented an amazing show, Grounded. The acting was phenomenal. The lighting was incredible. The projection screen was awesome. Plus, critical for me, the theater is hearing-disabled accessible. Precious few theaters have high-quality audio available to those who have trouble hearing.
I asked for a headset, and heard every consonant of each word. For example, the character said she joined the “Chair Force”; the quiet consonant “ch” was key to me getting the joke. I highly recommend Northern Stage’s shows for those who want to hear theater again.
Please share if you have personal experience with other theaters with great hearing accessibility.
Rebecca Chalmers
Chester, Vt.