Dear Editor:

A few weeks ago I stood on a bridge with hundreds of patriotic Americans in protest of the murder of Renee Good. The vast majority of passersby honked their horns in support of this protest. There was a small handful of detractors who hurled insults. However we stand by our values.

We have an expectation of equal justice under the law and a court where we might have a fair hearing. Now we stand in protest of the Trump regime’s corruption of the Department of Justice to the degree that they are actively covering up pedophiles, harassing dissenters, and failing to investigate Renee Good’s murder.

Where we have looked to our government to exercise its authority with some degree of prudence, wisdom, and forbearance, we now stand in protest of Trump’s overreach of authority and disregard of the rule of law and the intents of our Constitution.

We believe that a democracy depends upon tolerance and governing with concord and compromise. But Trump and his followers have sewn discord, distrust and derision, and for that we now stand in protest.

Where we value honesty and plain dealing, Trump and members of his regime repeatedly tell baldfaced lies, for this we now stand in protest.

Where we value charity, kindness, and the belief that dignity and respect for every human being are foundational to a just and compassionate society, we now stand in protest over the callous disregard to the welfare of others and Trump’s vicious persecution of dissenters and people of color.

The people standing on the bridge are standing up for the restoration of moral norms. We stand for the greatness of our nation, now being sullied. We stand for honoring the promises made to our nation’s allies, now being broken. We now stand in protest of the erosion of our uniquely American rights and freedoms. We protest the corruption and weakening of the institutions that protect those rights and freedoms and that has made America great.

That Trump and his MAGA followers have badly tarnished our national reputation is a pity and a shame.

Fred W. Nehring

Boothbay