National park
I stand behind the national park that has been proposed by the Quimby family and their supporters 100 percent.
I have been a Maine master guide since 1965, sharing Maine’s wilderness with many people from all over the country. There is nothing like sharing the mountains and taking a canoe down a stream. The Maine people themselves are special. While sitting by the campfire at night, we all would share what was seen that day: moose, deer, mountains. Northern Maine is another world.
I remember back in the 1960s, before the paper companies started to strip the land of the trees, one would walk down a path looking up and couldn’t see the tops they were so big. But that is not the case anymore. The North Woods covers more than 3 million acres, of which the national park proposal is only asking 150,000 acres be set aside — a drop in the bucket, one could say.
I first was introduced to the Maine woods in my younger years by my uncle, Charlie Mahar, who lived and worked at Trout Brook Farm as a cook and guide for Great Northern Paper Co. in Baxter State Park. Uncle Charlie’s camp was located on top of the big ledge near Trout Brook and had quite a view. Now that location is a campground.
I’m sharing this small part of my life mostly because, if large and small property owners continue cutting off the trees, blocking off roads and trails, our children’s children will miss what we see is left of the Maine forest.
We, the people of Maine, have to think back to how it was 50 years ago and try to preserve this parcel of land so others can enjoy it forever.
Lester Martin Sr.
Argyle Township
Media and race
In the June 18 USA Today article “ Voices: Social media zero in on bias after #CharlestonShooting,” points made were precise and accurate with the way I feel the media depicts criminals based on their race and ethnicity.
According to the article, “white privilege persists, even in the coverage of heinous crimes.” When “a suspect is black, they’re often labeled a ‘thug’ or a ‘gangster.’ When they’re Muslim, they’re stamped a ‘terrorist.’ When they’re white. they’re afforded the far more benign pathology of ‘troubled’ or ‘mentally ill.’”
These views are put on display for the entire nation to see. These messages have an aggressive meaning behind them, but because the medium in which they are transmitted to the larger public is passive, they are thought to be the norm by the media.
These passive messages construct a negative illusion that attaches itself to an entire ethnic community. It is these illusions that drive stereotypes and racial profiling. These illusions are unfair to the people affected; it is unfair to tag these demeaning terms to entire races and ethnic communities based on the actions of some individuals.
Yet, the media rarely attaches a demeaning term to the entire majority race in our country. The media isolates an individual from the majority race when a heinous crime is committed. This person’s actions will not marginalize the views of the rest of the race in the media.
Lavar Harewood
Orono
E-vote
Before reading a recent article about online voting, I had never put much thought into it. On Election Day, I have always gone to the poll site after work to cast my vote. Being able to cast my vote through the Internet on my iPhone during my 30-minute lunch break would be ideal.
There are other factors to think about when thinking about being able to vote online. There have been so many Internet hackers and security breaches recently that it is scary to think our personal information may not be protected. The public would have to have confidence in the government that our information would be protected.
With the possibility of being able to vote online, I believe polls would be more accurate. When I get to the voting booth I would sometimes like a refresher on where the candidates stand on certain topics or better explanations on the questions I am voting on. People casting votes online would be able to have access to the information they needed in order to cast an informed, accurate vote.
I believe a lot more people would vote if it were as easy as logging onto a website and simply casting your vote within minutes. There must be a way to make sure our information is safe. Most people do a majority of their banking online. So many people enter their credit card information onto the Internet and do their taxes online. Why can’t they vote online?
Morgan Lincoln
Houlton
Confederate flag
I would like to take this time to discuss the issues regarding Gov. Nikki Haley’s support for removing the Confederate flag from South Carolina’s Capitol grounds. There is more to be made known of the Confederacy, excluding the racial problem with which we are confronted. But we absolutely do need to face the controversies that will continue to unravel with the flag standing.
I think Haley made a smart decision to call for the flag’s removal. There always will be disputes concerning racism in our society. If there still are people out there who would like to represent the Confederate legacy, they may do so elsewhere. By flying the Confederate flag at the state house, it suggests the approval of racism by the whole state of South Carolina.
The Confederate flag will symbolize unity and heritage for some and hate for others. We have yet to solve this issue. What we need to focus on, though, is unifying our nation. To do so, we should eliminate the things that work against unity, such as the Confederate flag.
Removing the flag is the right thing to do, and this does not mean forgetting the history of the flag. Perhaps we should be looking for ways to remove the Confederate flag from the state house, but not completely eliminating the worthy principles of the Confederacy from the nation’s history.
Julia Harrison
Yarmouth