Forum for June 11, 2024: Hold steady, Americans
Published: 06-12-2024 10:22 AM |
The guilty verdict in the Trump trial has set off an explosion of rage and personal threats from Trump and many of his MAGA followers. These threats are dangerous and understandably frightening to those of us in both parties who value the rule of law and who have watched with respect the careful attention to justice manifested by Judge Mershan and the jury.
So it is all the more important that we hold steady and realize that the cries of outrage from frightened and desperate people are simply the tantrums of those who, shocked by the verdict, are reacting in a kind of desperate fury. Some are beginning to suspect that they have been conned, painful as that is. It’s embarrassment and shame that many are feeling — the anger of the fooled and publicly humiliated. Their emperor’s nakedness is being revealed. Coming to terms with reality is hard work — and blaming others in an effort to create an alternative reality is the easy way out.
As any parent with a raging child knows, calm and steady ultimately prevails. We’ll get through this, somehow. It will take courage not to be cowed, not to buy into the bluster of the bullies, remembering that most Americans seek bi-partisanship, trust, and decency in our government, want truth, justice and the law to prevail in our society. Hold steady, we remind ourselves. We are hearing the tantrums, but at the end of the day, we want to be grown-ups. Steady now, steady.
Larry Daloz
Hanover
Denial runs too deep
I truly laugh out loud when I hear people try to make reasoned arguments to Trump supporters about Trump’s entirely corrupt existence. Such wasted energy. You might as well have an argument with a table saw.
I also chuckle when I hear earnest and horrified climate scientists literally begging climate change denying policymakers to wake up and to stop pandering to their braindead constituencies. More wasted energy.
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Here’s the terrible reality: not until hundreds of thousands of people die in this melting nation on fire will the dutiful pseudo-conservative anti-intellectual zombies perhaps, just perhaps, awaken from their moronic, AI-enhanced, medieval, Trump-inspired evangelism. It is entirely impossible to reason with them; they are too far gone.
Perhaps a better plan is to buy some land in northern Quebec — given the accelerating rate of climate change, and given the coming second presidential term of Benito Mussolini’s long lost orange cousin, the Arctic Circle might be our best bet.
Dan Weintraub
White River Junction
Media mislead on Israel
Many of those voting for ceasefire in Gaza at Hanover Town Meeting and Lebanon City Council weren’t much better informed than elementary schoolers making protest votes. It’s tempting to engage in amateur diplomacy, micromanaging internal affairs of a sovereign nation without sufficiently comprehending all issues involved.
I support informed dissent, provided it’s nonviolent and students and others are willing to accept consequences of their civil disobedience. However, two phenomena I’ve observed cause me significant concern.
First is selective amnesia as to precisely what happened Oct. 7. The massacre of over 1,400 Israelis and citizens of other nations and forced detention of over 200 hostages, many of them still captive, was inhuman. Hamas-led atrocities caused people to question whether they had any shreds of human decency as they gleefully acted out their hate on innocent Israelis.
Media have widely criticized Israeli efforts to root out Hamas fighters who took refuge in tunnels, using Palestinian civilians as human shields and deliberately making hospitals and orphanages strategic targets for Israeli attacks. Small wonder the number of civilian deaths is so great — exactly as Hamas planned. Hamas is a far different enemy than decent people can comprehend: They care nothing for civilians, considered expendable pawns to be sacrificed at will while they operate from the safety of Qatar.
Media either don’t know or don’t care about promoting antisemitism by the way their news stories are framed. “From the river to the sea” has become the mantra on college campuses throughout America, and when colleges such as Dartmouth attempt to keep protests within acceptable limits, the result is no-confidence votes by students and censure by tenured faculty.
William A. Wittik
Hartford
Jumble sale was a success
I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who came together to make the 2024 St. Thomas Church Jumble Sale on June 1 a resounding success: volunteers, donors, community partners, and shoppers alike. Together, with a little hard work and mountains of top-notch donations of pre-loved clothing, jewelry, books, household/garden/sports/craft items, and countless vintage treasures, we raised $30,000 to distribute to good causes in the Upper Valley and beyond!
In addition to great bargains, attendees enjoyed ice cream from Strafford Organic Creamery, music by the Grace Wallace Trio, and a joy-filled visit from three adorable donkeys from Road to Independence. Ample street parking, facilitated by the Town of Hanover, ensured good access to the event. We are especially grateful to Boloco for providing lunch for our tireless volunteers; to J. Crew and New London Cleaners in Hanover for extra hangers; and to the men from Dismas House for lending a hand with the final clean-up. Thanks once more to all who supported the sale. We hope you will enjoy your jumble finds till we meet again next year.
Kristin Bornholdt Collins
Hanover