I appreciated some of William A. Wittik’s recent Forum letter (“Biden presidency doesn’t bode well for America,” Dec. 12).
First, I am glad he accepts the reality that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. Second, I am glad he is praying for Biden. I have been praying for President Donald Trump for the past four years, in hopes that God would turn his heart toward compassion and social justice. Third, I am glad he did not use a misreading of Scripture to support some of his opinions.
In his Nov. 28 letter (“Violence is done to the natural order”), he used the Genesis story of Sodom to bolster an attack on the LGBTQ+ community. The story of Sodom is not about gay and lesbian relationships. It is about the sins of gang rape, neglect of the poor and inhospitality, which I hope we all would agree are abominable.
In spite of these three positive things, though, I am disappointed at the suggestion that most of the policies of the new administration should fail. I believe God always blesses policies and actions that make our public health better, increase social and economic justice in our society, and improve relationships among nations. To whatever degree Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and their team can do those things, it would make many people’s dreams come true.
JOHN C. MORRIS
East Corinth
My suggestion for a new Republican state motto for New Hampshire: “Mask-Free and Die.”
A bit crass, but so is the truth.
So much ire, so little common sense.
CHARLIE FREEMAN
Lebanon
Democrats, progressives and liberals continue to slam President Donald Trump, Trump’s supporters, Republicans and conservatives, and at the same time call for unity.
Huh?
BRUCE ST. PETER
Grantham
I saw some good news last weekend: Somehow my wife, Ashley Hensel-Browning, directed the The Nutcracker for The Dance Factory in Springfield, Vt., as she does every year. I saw the Arabian dancers, the Candy Canes, the Waltz of the Flowers — things we expect in December, right? But to see them come alive in COVID-19 times, even my own hard heart was moved.
They taught and learned outdoors through Thanksgiving, in all weather, in masks. They built a Nutcracker without live audiences or ticket sales, and no certainty about whether the governor would even allow the performance, up to the last day. Nevertheless, they persisted.
I have come to understand that The Nutcracker is a character-building project for kids who dance ballet. They start out as goslings and mice, and as they grow, their roles grow. A person can become a Snow Queen, a Prince, a Mouse King. They can become the things that they dream about. It’s not nothing.
The performance was filmed by Springfield Area Public Access Television at the Bellows Falls Opera House, with every COVID-19 protocol in place — one scene’s cast in the theater at a time, dancers waiting on the sidewalk, in masks, for their turn to get their temperatures checked.
To see the delight in the eyes of the goslings as they scooted back under Mother Goose’s skirt, or Mark Derosia, also masked, climbing way higher than a man with a gray beard and a bag of snow should be allowed to so the Snow Queen’s magical spell could be cast — these are things money can’t buy. Only love can bring them off. I think it shines a light of hope.
Susan Hagan started The Dance Factory 35 years ago in the Fellows building, long before the renovation. This Nutcracker caused me to look back on all the changes in our community, everything that has been done and made. It gives me a lot of hope that we are still people who make things.
Look for The Nutcracker on SAPA and Okemo Valley TV.
SEAN WHALEN
Weathersfield