‘Make America America Again’
To the editor:
Carnivals around the world like Mardi Gras are community parties designed to give us a joyfully distracting break from the troubling realities of daily life that always are there in the background, waiting to be dealt with face-to-face the morning after.
This year, we will face troubling realities greater than after any previous Carnival. For many, the temptation will be to continue with mindless distractions and dogged obliviousness. Others will think about how to deal with the serious mornings-after ahead.
It’s always painful to face reality, but has there ever been a year this painful? It is not “Trump bashing” or “Trump derangement syndrome” to take notice of the fire hose of predatory realities pouring out upon us every day.
The more you know, the less you’ll MAGA: the elimination of public protections, the denigration of our nation’s international status and our loss of allies, the working poor getting poorer, the obscenely rich getting richer, environmental laws undercut, the rule of law in tatters, our national media captured, a Russian dictator playing puppetry on us, science trashed, life-saving mRNA vaccine development blocked, climate action reversed, and federal troops in our cities under false pretenses.
And now, having created a secretive billion-dollar presidential enforcement masked militia, Trump has established an Alligator Auschwitz in Florida, with an Appalachian Auschwitz in Tennessee, an Auto-Racing Auschwitz “Speedway Slammer” in Indiana, and other concentration camps being built around the U.S.
What will it take for enough Americans to awaken to reality in 2026 (if there is a 2026 election) to begin to make America America again?
Zygmunt J.B. Plater
Provincetown
Action on Fire Danger
To the editor:
Thank you for the thoughtful article “A Small Fire at Beech Forest Sparks Big Concerns” by Jack Styler [Aug. 14, page A5].
The buildup of years’ worth of understory debris and unfelled dead trees, as well as impassable fire roads resulting from budgetary constraints on the Cape Cod National Seashore, contribute to the danger of a large and disastrous fire here. Neglect by the state Dept. of Transportation of the Route 6 rights of way adds to the problem.
Truro’s climate action committee hosted a well-attended meeting at the town library in June with Fire Chief Tim Collins and Josh Nigro, a state fire marshal, that brought attention to creating “defensible space” zones and the need for specialized fire equipment and emergency training.
Cape residents can participate in a discussion at 6 p.m. on Aug. 28 at the Truro Meeting House on what is being done and what should be done about fire risk. National Seashore Supt. Jennifer Flynn will be there, along with local fire chiefs, emergency fire responders, forest ecologists, county officials, and elected state representatives.
John Marksbury
Truro
Letters to the Editor
The Provincetown Independent welcomes letters from readers on all subjects. They must be signed with the writer’s name, home address, and telephone number (for verification). Letters will be published only if they have been sent exclusively to the Independent. They should be no more than 300 words and may be edited for clarity, accuracy, conciseness, and good taste. Longer pieces (up to 600 words) may be submitted for consideration as op-ed commentary. Send letters to [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 1034, Provincetown, MA 02657. The deadline for letters is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.
