Letter to the Editor: Silence is Consent

My name is Lew Watters. My wife Bonnie and I have lived, worked and raised a family in Vermont over a span of 44 years. We are now retired and blessed with six grand-children in nearby Brookfield, VT. In witnessing a steady and steep decline in the quality of life in Vermont and our country, we recently decided that we could no longer sit on the sidelines and do nothing.

Two things happened. First, a dear respected friend and grandparent recently commented over a lively dinner conversation, "Donald Trump has little to do with our current state and nation dilemma. The problem is more fundament: It is the system that is broken and needs fixing." Next, Dr. Dan Freilich came to our door on the 4th of July during a global heat wave. After listening, we decided to take action and are working for his campaign. "Silence is Consent" is not a new phenomenon if you know a little history and how change for the better can happen.

In and effort to make a difference, Bonnie and I have been telephoning local voters who are listening and share our deep concerns over the state of our current political leadership. One of the basic problems we have learned is a decline in voter turnout in elections, both nationally in 2016 and even locally as evidenced in the latest round of school budget voting.

Don't be silent. Vote in the Vermont Democratic Primary this coming Tuesday, August 14th. You will need to use the Democratic Ballot to vote for Dr. Dan Freilich for US Congress. As he said in a most recent interview on VPR about incumbent Peter Welch: "Do we fight for the people aggressively with an effort for transformational change, in our lifetime, or are we willing to accept the old boys club, the corruption that goes with it, and the consequences of it?"