“I remain just one thing, and one thing only, and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician.”

Charlie Chaplin

I like to read all the different letters to the editor that people send to newspapers. The subject matter of the letter and even the paper it’s in makes no difference to me. It’s interesting reading for sure, and although I might not share the same opinion, but that doesn’t really matter because in the end everyone is entitled to their own. I respect one’s right to express their opinion in such a manner because that is one of the freedoms that our nation was founded upon.

What’s a true shame is that other freedoms are constantly under attack by politicians, both good and bad, under the banner of protecting all of us. Unfortunately what I see is that politicians are protecting us from ourselves, at least in their narrow minds.

One thing I find sad is that there are always those who represent us, especially at the state or federal levels, who can dream up new laws restricting our ability to be ourselves. Maine recently instituted a law to prevent anyone under 21 from buying tobacco products. What’s really wacky about that besides the fact that someone 18 years old can fight and die for his/her country is that our government treats them like teenagers while expecting something different. All of this discussion is probably wasted once recreational marijuana becomes available and it turns out to be so heavily taxed and burdened with so many restrictions that citizens will purchase illegal marijuana and who will know the difference?

Yep, our elected officials know that we are more than abundantly stupid and unable to care for ourselves so it is up to them to protect us from ourselves. It’s either that or they have figured out that by creating laws that include fines and penalties they can actually acquire even more money to fund what they believe in.

Of course what is sad here is the fact that they work in an atmosphere of comfort while many common citizens, especially poor ones, suffer without sufficient necessities in their lives. For example, think about this. People in Maine do without sufficient funds to heat their homes so members of Maine’s Legislature form a nonprofit to help them. To me that shows where the real problem is and what’s really wrong, both in Augusta and Washington.

Another real sore spot for me is Maine’s high cost of electricity. Why Mainers should pay more to support giving electricity to states south of us is beyond comprehension for me. During the big Northeast blackout in 1965 my hometown went dark. The problem there was that Wilder Dam near us on the Connecticut River was promised to provide cheaper electricity. Oops, all of that electric power was going south to Massachusetts and beyond. Hey, if Mainers could purchase cheaper hydroelectric power from Canada why not? Is our government protecting it’s citizens or big business? Maybe that’s why one can see the free lunches under the Rotunda in the State House in Augusta.

Sadly all of this might not even matter when one looks at the amount of money that government spends on itself, and even worse, probably doesn’t even want us to really know how much. A perfect example is our governor’s trips to Washington, our nation’s swamp, although I call it a cesspool. Then there’s the recent story in the Portland Press Herald about certain local government servants making enormous salaries far beyond the majority of taxpayers in their communities and especially here in Windham. Can we really expect any type of tax relief when our elected and appointed leaders our sucking our wallets and purses dry?

Lane Hiltunen of Windham loves to watch the political infighting in the city of Portland and wonders why the same can’t happen in Windham by having an elected mayor. It sounds like real entertainment.