From away
Recently the CEO of the Bangor YMCA wrote a thoughtful OpEd describing her happiness at living and working in Maine. She also described an incident where someone cautioned her about starting a business in Maine because she was “from away.” The phrase was used by a Mainer who, it seems, was uncomfortable interacting with people “from away.” Fortunately most Mainers are not like that Mainer, as our family can certify after having moved here ourselves 40 years ago “from away.”
But the writer also suggests we not use the term “from away” anymore. After checking with a few of my friends who have lived in Maine for generations, this is a misguided suggestion. Most of the time, “from away” is simply one of those colorful Maine expressions indicating that someone has moved here. It is descriptive and neutral. If it is used in a prejudicial way, that is a problem with the speaker, not the phrase.
David P Frasz
Dover-Foxcroft
Prescription drug costs
Thousands of Mainers take prescription drugs, and many struggle to afford them. I am one of those people. My only source of income is my Social Security and that barely covers my monthly expenses.
I am a retired nurse. I know how the healthcare system works. Despite research and multiple conversations with my doctors about any available alternatives, I can barely afford the life-saving medications I need. I have several chronic diseases that affect my lungs and my liver. Sometimes I have to skip doses which causes terrible side effects.
The other side effect is my quality of life. The cost of these drugs is so high that I have to ration my food. I cannot visit my own children who live out of state because I cannot afford the trip. I am only 72 years old and this is not how I imagined my “golden years” would be. Yet, I know there are many other people who are far worse off than I am.
Americans pay more for prescription drugs than any other country in the world. The pharma executives seem to care about their profits, not that the cost of their drugs is ruining people’s lives.
It’s time to make our voices heard. I went to Augusta on April 17 to testify regarding a package of bills to address prescription drug cost and accessibility. Please, call your state legislators. Call your members of Congress. If you are as outraged as I am by the cost of prescription drugs, please speak up now. We need our representatives to take a stand and we need pharma to take responsibility.
Ellen Harris-Howard
Lebanon
Green New Deal and partisanship
Recently a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a Senator collaborated to put together a non-binding resolution, a first step proposal, which laid out some ideas for solving a problem that they feel urgently needs to be addressed. It is not going to be a law, but might result in a law after many problem-solving meetings and discussions. The next steps logically would be have intelligent discussions in small groups, perhaps conduct focus groups or town halls, and then come forth with a do-able solution to the urgent problem.
The nonbinding resolution was called the Green New Deal, and you may know what happened next. Threatening that if the Green New Deal resolution passed, cars and cows would be abolished, politicians trashed the idea and voted not to even debate it in the Senate. They also trashed the people who offered the ideas, most notably a young woman who has been newly elected in the House.
This is just one of many examples of the ways our government has stopped problem-solving. So, I would like to ask everyone to consider the following: imagine that there were no political parties that you could depend on for carrying ideas into law. Ask yourself, what are the problems that you believe must be solved with government help? What individuals would be the best at problem solving those issues, based on their experience and skills? Our political process has become too partisan, and now we must take over and see that people who will address problems successfully represent us in Washington and Maine. Now is the time!
Nancy Sargent
Lamoine