A coward confronted is a coward defeated

My mother, who would have been 100 years old this June, was born and brought up in Westbrook, Maine. Her father was a doctor there. His office was in the house and the house was on Main Street close to the middle of town. My mother told stories of seeing the Ku Klux Klan marching down Main Street dressed in white robes and pointed hoods. There were virtually no blacks and very few, if any, Jews in Westbrook. So why would a KKK group be formed in Westbrook nearly as far from the south as you can get in this country? The answer is that they were anti Catholic. Most of the paper mill workers were French Canadian Catholics and the Klan thought of them as immigrants and therefore threatening.

Little has changed in Maine, it seems. The KKK still is alive and active in Freeport, Topsham, Augusta and Gardiner and likely other towns in the state. Their focus has changed from anti Catholic to anti Muslim (or anti all people who do not look and act as they do). Because the KKK now has friends in the Trump administration, they feel they have a license to speak out, though not courageously enough to parade in white gowns on the streets of our towns, not yet at least. They operate in secret, not brave enough to march without robes or to face people directly. Pamphlets too are a spineless way to bully people. They know that most people abhor the views of the KKK and they therefore stay in the shadows peeking out unseen to intimidate those whom they don’t like. It is up to the rest of us to ferret out these furtive individuals and confront them. A coward confronted is a coward defeated.

Bart Chapin,

Arrowsic

Susan Collins No Longer Maine’s Champion

On Sunday, I attended another rally in Portland. While I was buoyed by the diversity of faces and voices adding to the resistance, I couldn’t help but feel our momentum deflated by the absence of our demands. I saw signs enumerating the ways our leadership is disappointing us, heard the shouts denouncing President Trump’s divisive policies, and watched a parade of people speak to the impact of these policies on Mainers. What I didn’t observe was a call to action. Interspersed with the shouts against Trump were reminders of the ways that Senator Collins has supposedly supported us. What I didn’t hear was a demand for her removal from office.

What will it take for Maine voters to demand a true representative in office? What will be the last straw? How many times will we bear the weight of her votes against education, healthcare, and the other values we hold dear? Her votes reflect her allegiance and she has proven over and over again that she is not on our side.

Many Mainers believe that Susan Collins has been a champion for our state. That time has passed. We can no longer ignore that she does not have our best interests in mind. Our way of life is being threatened and our values are being undermined. When I am threatened, I don’t say thank you — I make demands. The time has come to demand a replacement. Who among us will stand up? As Mainers, we must show our elected representatives that if they don’t show up for us, we’ll come for their jobs.

Laura Cyr,

Portland

Thank you, President Trump

The recent change to the visa program announced by the President is welcome news. The President has listened to national security experts who have analyzed the movement of ISIS fighters from Syria/Iraq into other countries from which they can migrate West. The President’s temporary order will allow for a thorough review of the visa security posture for United States without fear that foreign fighters will enter during that time. Citizens of the U.S. are fortunate to have a president who is fully engaged with our national security team to make America safe from emerging threats.

Thank you, President Trump, for taking the bold, necessary and Constitutional steps to protect the homeland from emerging threats.

Ethan Jones,

Bath

Civility Out, Trump-Bashing In

I have been a subscriber for years and must say am growing weary of this newspaper’s far left leaning, such as Charles Blow’s truly vicious ranting in your Jan. 31 edition. Civility has gone by the wayside and Trump bashing is definitely in. There are those of us who didn’t vote for either major candidate but are willing to give the current administration a chance. How about a little good news? It’s out there for those who aren’t blinded by spite and sour grapes. Vitriol spills out on everyone. What kind of example are we to our children? At one time we were a far gentler society. What have we become when there is rioting because good people vote for a candidate offering them a better life? Last I heard this country is a democracy. I’m beginning to wonder.

Jacqulyn Perfetto,

Bath

Inexperienced foreign policy makes us less safe

No matter who you voted for in November, this is a time to pay close attention to foreign policy. I believe we are in great danger.

President Trump’s action to bar people from seven Muslimmajority countries has thrown the world into confusion and provided extremists a new point around which to rally against the United States. This executive order looks like an action of hate against an entire group of people and seems like a betrayal of those we have worked with for peace and security in Iraq, for instance. Many of those who served as translators and guides — at great risk to themselves — now feel abandoned by our government.

The world order that has been established over the past decades (for better and worse) is being thrown out and this is deeply destabilizing. No one can predict the results, but hasty actions often lead to unintended consequences. Suddenly the United States has an inexperienced team making foreign policy. It might sound appealing to say “America First” but this has very dangerous implications for our relations with other nations around the world.

Personally, I feel much less safe today than I did last week. We have elected a president who acts unilaterally, without consulting others and who instantly fires those who disagree with him. He refuses to read security briefings or to seek the counsel of those who are experts in their fields. This is such a shocking change in the approach to decision-making in the United States that everyone, no matter who they voted for, should be deeply concerned.

Meanwhile changes in the National Security Council (NSC) are also cause for alarm. The NSC is the forum that was created in 1947 for the President of the United States to be advised on national security and foreign policy matters. It is supposed to be made up of top diplomatic, military and intelligence officials. President Trump has just fundamentally rearranged this Council, including Steve Bannon in the inner circle of its ranks and putting the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence on an “as needed” basis. Mr. Bannon lacks foreign policy and security experience. He is a white nationalist who has argued that being perceived as evil gives one more power. His views do not represent who we are as Americans. This is not a sane or reasonable direction in which to take our foreign policy and we are becoming less safe with each passing day.

Lucy Hull

Arrowsic