Scott Daneau: Community power structure at work in Lakes Region

To The Daily Sun,

Hillarie Goldstein, thank you for your letter. It is important to realize and remember that there is a community power structure at work in the Lakes Region. It is comprised of officials, law enforcement, medical services, mental health services, and other community organizations. It operates with a motive of “community engagement.”

It is a power structure. I personally think of it as a conglomerate. To those inside, there are only really two classes, and those would be “us” and “them.” Some people within these organizations simply cannot handle the concept that we as a community are all “us.”

Around here we still fly the red, white, and blue; but I propose that we should be flying the black, blue, and gold instead.

The blue would stand for the police and their ever-increasing power (which is, as you pointed out, very concerning). It’s not the fault of the police; their power is thrust upon them. This is the result of hysterics by a frightened and reactionary populace. However, as Benjamin Franklin stated, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

The gold in our new flag should speak for itself.

The black stands for the incredible damage half measures have caused this community over the past few years. We’ve got corpses upon corpses of victims of deaths of despair. Deaths of despair are defined as deaths resulting from suicide, alcoholism, or drug use (typically overdose). I will omit the stats as when you investigate deeply enough to discover the truth many simply will not be capable of handling it (the stats are so appalling as to be frankly difficult to believe).

Given the situation that we face, I couldn’t care less about this person’s collection of unregistered cars. At least if we fly the black, blue, and gold we would be honest about who we have become as a community, and in that honesty lies the potential for repentance and change.

Scott Daneau

Laconia