The real issue
To the Editor:
Isn't the need for building a new jail just a cover-up of the real issue? Why do we have all this crime? Is it possible that our leaders have taken the conscience from us, and as a result lawlessness has become a way of life?
When we are told to lock our doors, hide our valuables, buy security devices, etc., aren't we admitting to a lawless society? And that the powers that be can't protect us? Do our leaders take away our rights or do they protect our rights? Are we as individuals responsible to government or to ourselves? What happens to a man when you take away his conscience — his sense of responsibility, of right and wrong?
Now, the issue is the jail. First, there was the tobacco settlement, then the lottery, then the casino. Now they want to make money off of the criminal. The more they take, the more the benefits cost and the less freedom we have!
Are we so naive to think that our elected leaders will protect our wealth and not consume it unto themselves? By what authority do government officials make decisions in relation to dispersing revenue they get from us?
Are they not our servants and accountable to us who pay the taxes?
Government has become our master, and we are its servants.
Jerry Plett
Lincolnville
