Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com
A dangerous statement
Recently, the writer of a letter to the editor of the Bangor Daily News asserted that they “believe our elections are rigged and our vote is meaningless.” The writer’s suggested remedy was to “redo” the 2020 presidential election, throwing out the legally cast votes of literally millions of Americans.
I certainly take issue with that remedy, but more than that, I think the opinion page editor missed an opportunity. The assertion that our elections are “rigged” is entirely unsupported by the evidence, and it’s downright dangerous to let a statement like that pass unchallenged.
If it had been made on Twitter, the statement would have been tagged as untrue. The Bangor Daily News should do no less, as a news organization. The alternative is to allow faith in our very well-tuned system of elections to be undermined for no reason other than the prevarication of certain national politicians who only have their own interests at heart.
Paul J. Gies
Dryden
Banding together
There is no question that COVID is a very aggressive virus. We should respect the safety of those around us, wear a mask where required. If people can’t or won’t, they should respect those who do wear masks for their own protection and that of their families and friends. If we can believe the media when they report that the recovery rate of those affected is in the 98 percent range, then I think the virus will eventually go away. The numbers being reported are, to say the least, very scary. I wonder that of the hundreds of thousands that have died, how many died from the virus and how many from other causes but also checked positive for the virus? Tell us just how many have died directly because of the virus.
We the people need to band together to defeat the virus. We should use proper PPE, social distance when possible and just use good old common sense. We can listen to the media’s numbers of those afflicted and affected, but we can choose for ourselves to what degree of the reports to believe!
To quote a saying that a co-worker very often said, that pretty much sums up all the numbers being reported, “figures don’t lie, but liars figure!” It is amazing just how many places that saying could be used with today’s issues.
Timothy Smyth
Millinocket
Save our nation
We, as Americans, have enjoyed the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Our Constitution and Declaration of Independence afford these to us as citizens. Pilgrims, revolutionists, Civil War veterans, World War I and World War II veterans and others have fought to protect our liberties.
Georgians vote on Jan. 5, I believe, to maintain our rights or lose them to socialism. Socialists want to defund police and open our borders to the world. Our veterans served to protect our freedoms over the centuries. Pray God’s hand is over our nation as Georgians’ votes on Jan. 5 will determine the fate and future of the U.S.
Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried. Examples are Venezuela and Cuba. People are starving in these countries right at present. Again, pray up until Jan. 5 and after for the survival of our nation as a republic and not turned to socialism. The prayers of a righteous person availeth much. God will hear our prayers and respond according to His will.
Noreen Liebmann
Belfast