Local GOP leaders’ statements point to failure of reason

I was saddened by the comments of local GOP leaders in your recent article (“Local GOP leaders insist it’s too soon for Trump to concede,” The Herald, Nov.12). It seems that these folks are willing to believe all the conspiracy theories about the election rather than the facts.

Here are some of the most outlandish statements from the Herald article: Debra Blodgett says, “We believe there are definitely some shenanigans going on”; Doug Roulstone says, “We don’t believe anything the press says anymore;” and Robert Sutherland says he has, “very little faith we’ll get a correct vote count and outcome.” Really, so we should question the honesty of all the poll workers, both Republicans and Democrats, who showed great personal courage putting their health at risk by working long hours manning polling stations around the country in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and later obsessed about the accuracy of counting votes because they believe in democracy? And what about the countless heroic voters around the country who waited for many hours in long lines exposing themselves to the virus, so that they could exercise their Constitutional right to vote? State Sen. Keith Wagoner did say, “whether real or perceived, there’s mistrust in the voting system for the state and the nation.” There’s the key, “whether real or perceived.” This points toward the tendency of all of us in this age of social media on both the left and right to abandon reason and critical thinking and instead believe in half-baked conspiracies that can’t be verified but are just what we want to believe.

Folks, rather than demonize those who believe differently, we need to come together as a nation to solve the many problems we are facing. For starters, we have a pandemic that is raging and a resulting economic crisis that has put many out of work and unable to get adequate health care and meet their living expenses. We have a legacy of racial and economic disparity that we need to face up to and resolve. We need to be true adults and put aside our differences and work together as Americans, not just Republicans and Democrats. We can do better than engage in pettiness. We are the people of United States of America!

Howard Lazzarini

Everett