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Dear Editor:
A relative sent me this quote by Hannah Arendt, a German émigré and prominent 20th-century philosopher and historian whose work centered on the rise of totalitarianism and the reasons for its acceptance by ordinary people. I thought that in light of the conduct of Donald Trump’s organization and the Republican Party that is backing him, it is something for all voters to consider as they prepare to make their choice in the upcoming election:
“The constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore.
A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong.
And such a people, deprived of the power to think and judge, is – without knowing and willing it – completely subjected to the rule of lies. With such a people, you can do whatever you want.”
I submit this as a lifelong unenrolled voter, alarmed not at the behavior of the political right but at the complacency of the American public for allowing it to get as far as it has. It is my fervent wish that voters on November 5th have not lost the ability to think and judge. It is their greatest power.
Respectfully,
Jeff Struble
Tower Road
