Throughout my life I have always have felt safe in the U.S. Even in 1941, when I came home from first grade in rural Washington state to find my mother solemn and terrified because the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, I somehow knew that we Americans would be safe.
I did my part, collected scrap newspaper and metal with my older brother, took the ration stamps to the grocery, and mixed the margarine with food coloring, though I hated the taste. But I had no doubt that together we would be safe.
Can anyone be feeling safe now? Even the coronavirus does not threaten me as much because I trust much of our government would solve that problem were they allowed.
What is strange now, so many years later, I fear my own government as it falls apart, and not only because of the eccentric behavior of one man, but of half of our elected officials who have so callously forsaken their commitment to the American people for personal greed and power.
For the first time in 85 years I am really afraid.
CLAUDIA J. McKAY
Norwich
That’s some extravagant Joe Biden fan fiction Upper Valleyers have been treating the readership to. One way to liven up the Plague Year. for sure.
There are rational reasons to wish for a Democratic victory in November, but they ought to stand on their own without fabulism as their scaffolding. Biden has a long, long record, and the magic of the internet puts it at our fingertips, so I needn’t do your work for you.
My friends keep chastising me for my silly insistence that character matters. Politicians are all crumbums anyway; who the heck am I to stand on principle when the nation is going to That Place on a runaway train?
Just remember, though, if you’re of the temperament to scorn those fellow citizens of ours who persist in a foolish devotion to our current president, despite all the evidence of incompetence, lies, grift as a family business and pathetic macho posturing, but you find yourselves unable to recognize all of that in Biden too, then you’ve trashed any right to a warm cozy feeling of moral superiority over those who can’t see what’s in front of them.
SARAH CRYSL AKHTAR
Lebanon
Our climate and our democracy are being destroyed by President Donald Trump and his administration, and we need to vote for Joe Biden for president.
I campaigned hard for Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020. His progressive values align with mine. I was heartbroken when he lost the Democratic nomination. But now I’m fighting for Biden to be our president. There is a world of difference between Trump and Biden. I believe Trump is a despot and a sociopath. Biden is a decent man.
So much is at stake, but as a mom, I am most concerned about the climate emergency. My son was in San Francisco this summer as wildfires transformed the Bay Area into an inferno. He was sickened breathing the toxic air. Armageddon-like events like the California fires will only get worse and more frequent unless we act quickly. The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was clear: We have only a few years left to dramatically decrease global carbon emissions and prevent irreversible climate catastrophe.
If Trump wins, our time to act on climate will run out. If we get the vote out for Biden, there is hope.
Biden’s climate plan is bolder than that of any prior Democratic nominee. A Biden presidency is our last opportunity to prevent the climate time bomb from detonating.
So please vote for Biden. Your vote counts. Inspire your friends and family to vote. Phone bank for Biden and other Democrats and progressives at home from your computer. Local organizations like Rights and Democracy (there are chapters for both Vermont and New Hampshire) and the Upper Valley Democrats will help set you up.
A win for Joe Biden is a win for Bernie Sanders, and a win for our climate future.
MIRIAM R. OSOFSKY
Hanover
President Donald Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said Trump was being treated for COVID-19 with an experimental antibody treatment given to him under “compassionate use” because it is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration. So my question is: Why is this drug not given to all sick and dying patients in general?
If there is an expectancy that another 200,000 Americans will become infected and face death, why can’t these poor people be given the same chance at life given to Donald Trump? Why can’t they have this experimental drug at their disposal too under “compassionate use”?
Is Donald Trump’s life any more precious than yours or that of your loved ones? The answer is a resounding no.
JACKIE SMITH
Sunapee