A time of fear and distrust

To the editor:
    I was listening to the television news report the other evening and heard a story of a small convenience store in Maine taking bets on when our new President would be assassinated. At that moment, I experienced intense shame to be a citizen of a country where that was happening.
    We are a nation of diverse peoples, diverse religions and diverse opinions founded on principles of freedom to be different. I have watched the increasing level of fear over the past eight years accompanied by a decrease in acceptance of others. We are now facing a time of unparalleled fear and distrust of others, at the national level, that is producing far-reaching consequences for all of us.
    This news story may represent, at the local level, the depth of how far we have strayed from the Founding Fathers’ ideals. This is a time when we need to be working together and if we don’t, we deserve the intense pain and loss that is surely coming.
Janet Yelch-Weatherbee
Dover-Foxcroft