In Response to Mr. Coutré and Mr. Mowen’s Letters
Thank you, Mr. Coutré, for agreeing that the election judge’s comments are completely out of line. While Mr. Mowen says that she obviously didn’t mean it, I don’t know that; she said those words. This is not a random comment said sitting around the kitchen table; she was an election judge intimidating a voter. That comment was inspired from somewhere, and yes, perhaps from Mr. Trump’s many attacks on Democrats. I’m sure she is sorry, but she is not the victim. And Mr. Mowen, if someone said this to a Republican voter, I would be equally outraged.
We live in unusual times. I think the reason some of the protesters are so angry is the same reason I’m upset. Every week I see the President break laws, demean allies as well as opponents, bully those he sees as weak, dismantle our healthcare system, withhold appropriated tax dollars, start a war, and on and on. Mr. Coutré calls Mr. Trump’s behavior his, “incendiary blather.” I think Mr. Trump’s daily incendiary blather does matter; it sets a tone. Those who agree and those who disagree with Mr. Trump seem to feel the need to respond in kind. It does filter down, affecting all of us.
State and national leaders continue to stoke partisan biases. We could create long lists of those who say disturbing things, but I don’t think that’s productive. Yes Mr. Mowen, I know we don’t live in a “blissful haven.” Much like the rest of America, we’re deeply divided. But I believe that in our small town, we have the opportunity to have real conversations with people in our community. That is unique to small towns, and I believe our community leaders strive to foster conversation.
To address some of George’s points, I agree that some of the signs the protesters in the park use are offensive, though protesters have a right to say what they want. I‘ve personally confronted sign carriers suggesting that their signs are inappropriate, that there are children in the park.
Regarding the references to Mr. Trump being a pedophile, I believe Mr. Trump could answer that question by just releasing all the Epstein files. Mr. Trump was mentioned thousands of times in those files, certainly any reasonable person would wonder why.
Please note in my recent letter that I said, “We all need to listen to each other, not yell at each other…” And when I wrote, “When we vilify whole groups of people because we don’t like what they say, believe, or look like; we’ve lost community,” I was not referring just to Republicans, I meant those comments for all of us, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, everyone. We need to have real conversations.
Sometimes the firehose of incendiary blather overwhelms me. I hope we can begin to talk about the real issues of the day. Let’s start conversations around inflation, gas prices, jobs, AI, healthcare, Social Security, the Epstein files, education, undeclared wars… I encourage others to share their opinions.
Richard Chamberlain Colchester, Illinois
