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Betty Chabot of Dexter is retired from a career in accounting, banking and business management.
As I sit here on my little piece of land in the middle of Maine, I ask myself, “What can I do to save our Constitution, democracy and our country?”
I have always voted since I turned 18 and have voted Democrat, Republican or independent. I tried to look for the candidate that would move our country forward.
I have been digging into the past, researching how countries have evolved with dictators as their leadership. I am scared for our country. Not for myself, as I am 75 years old, but for our future generations.
I’m sure I don’t have to list everything I have learned about dictatorship. It seems that everything I have read about the late 1930s and early 1940s before we entered World War II to help defeat Adolf Hitler, is going on today in our country and in our Congress.
Ever since Donald Trump made known his goal to be president, he has used many of the tactics that Adolf Hitler used to take over Germany.
In my mind, I could not understand how Hitler could turn every day good people into mass murders. Now, I have a better understanding about radicalism.
I always thought radicalism was mostly associated with people in foreign countries. I know now that radicalism is happening in our own country. Disinformation is part of the “authoritarian tactic.” The amount of disinformation in our country by Trump and his followers is overwhelming. We count on the news agencies to inform us what is going on around the world, and Trump calls these media people corrupt and dangerous.
Trump condemns our courts and our laws (unless the courts rule in his favor). This affects everyone when listening to the lies over and over. For some, the lies become the truth. How dangerous is this to our country.
My parents always taught me that “truth” is always the way to go. I was taught to do what was right even when someone wasn’t looking.
There are no words to cover the assault on our U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. I watched in real time as it was happening.
I have had the privilege to live in a free country. I want the same for the next generations.
So, I ask my fellow country men and women to please do some research on dictatorship and authoritarian leadership before you vote in the 2024 election.