Dear Editor:

The American symbol of conservative ideology may become a death shroud imprinted with the words “less government, more freedom.” As Donald J. Trump chose his cabinet and agency heads, we saw a new concept in American government: aka kistocracy (a system of government that is run by the worst, least qualified, and/or most unscrupulous citizens[Wikipedia]). The best qualification for leading an agency under Trump was and is to have sworn that agency should be abolished.

At the CPAC meeting in the spring of 2017, Trump and Steve Bannon explained to a cheering crowd that they were “dismantling” our government, revealing the true mission of the conservative movement; to destroy our government. Since the election of Ronald Reagan, the conservative message has been that government is the problem.

Today this lie is laid bare.The chaotic, too little too late, Federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic reveals the folly of their movement. It did not have to be this way. A pandemic task force existed before Trump. Many people are about to die unnecessarily because of expertise and staffing lost to demoralization and staffing cuts in our critical agencies, draconian budget cuts and agency heads incapable of leadership.

Our COVID-19 outbreak will almost certainly follow the trajectory of Italy’s tragedy: Piles of bodies in the morgue, funerals without family, and life and death triage in an overloaded, collapsing medical system. This is a horrible way to learn the value of our national agencies, each one crafted to serve a vital purpose. The highest purpose of a government is to protect its people. May we never again be fooled into allowing anyone to destroy our government.

Dwight Swisher

Boothbay