Letters to the Editor
The Recent State of Affairs
I feel compelled to write my feelings down in light of the recent state of affairs in our country. I am a proud American and have always been proud to be an American. That is not to say that I have always been proud of everything that has happened in America. I have never been more proud to be American than I am at this moment in time.
The tragedy in our nation’s capital and in New York City has brought out the best in all Americans. We are not asking what this country can do for us, but we are asking how we can help this country. People from all walks of life have come together to help in anyway they can. Celebrities are using their talents to raise much needed revenue for restoration and aide to victims’ families. Contributions of supplies have been made from all over the nation. People are literally digging in to help in the removal of debris and in locating victims. Everyone is doing whatever he or she can to be supportive.
I have never seen so many American flags being flown with pride in our nation as are being flown now. Even on the Fourth of July, the flags have not been this many. It makes me immensely proud to be an American. I too am flying my flag and helping in whatever way I am capable of. It would be remiss however if I didn’t point out that in Vermont it was not that long ago that this State was very divided. In light of the recent events in our nation all this seems inconsequential.
Vermont was embroiled in a battle about Civil Unions. There were two very split factions when it came to discussion and passage of the Civil Union Bill into law. I must say that at that time in Vermont it was very difficult to be proud of Vermont and in turn it made it difficult to be proud to be an American. America to me has always been about freedom. Not just the freedom to worship where every one’s beliefs lead, but freedom to live without fear. This freedom has been challenged recently in the tragedies of late. As I look at how these beliefs have been challenged I cannot help but think how the anger and hatred, yes hatred, about the Civil Union in Vermont pales in comparison to the current events in our country.
I would like to think that if nothing else, we have learned from this tragedy to fight for things that really matter. How people live their life, following whatever beliefs they choose is what America is all about. It seems to me that the fight about Civil Union was, and in many ways, continues to be a fight that should not be happening. We as a state and nation need to come together to fight the enemy that challenges our way of life. That way of life in America is and should be a life free from judgment and hatred. We as Americans have the right to live without fear no matter where our life leads us. We have never worked so hard to support one another. This is a tremendous show of support, and I hope we learn from this tragedy that no matter what walk of life, what color skin, or where we worship, we can and should support each other. I have seen this support and sincerely hope that it carries over and dispels any future hatred or anger. Let us not forget what good can come from a state and nation working together toward a common cause with no hatred or anger.
Anonymous
Stone Cold?
I fear Charlie Emond is running dry in his attempts to be funny with history in his column “Stonehenge to Stonewall”. His innuendos are becoming awfully cheap shots. And when he misses a simple fact as badly as in the October issue’s “Stepping to a Different Drummer,” I wonder about other statements of fact on which he bases his double meanings. If these become fabrications the whole stops being funny and turns into a kind of National Enquirer report on people who can’t respond or sue.
In the above column, writing of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mr. Emond says that after the death of his first wife, “He never remarried.” Well, he did, and with his second wife, Lydian Jackson, had four children. And the implication that he lived the advice he gave Thoreau to “seek solitude” is just wrong.
Joseph Schaaf
Bennington, Vt