To the Editor:

I am responding here to the letter written by Edgar Tolmie on June 26 where he asks, “What particular freedoms have they lost” referring to those of us who protested on No Kings Day.

Well, let me try to answer this, Edgar, beginning with a quote from a King, Martin Luther King Jr., when he said, “No one is free until we are all free.” 

That alone may be the core difference between you and I and between MAGA and anti-Trump protesters. 

Most of the Trump supporters I have encountered seem to be focused mainly on their lives, their grocery bills, their finances, and their future and that is where I believe our paths diverge.  Of course we, like you, are concerned about our families and their rights but we also recognize that the national and global communities that surround us are just as important.

As we watch Trump erode the rights of immigrants with enforced disappearances, separation of families, and the climate of fear it creates, we mourn the freedom of a fair and just trial for those with questionable credentials. We fear the demise of a land where safety has long been offered to those in need.

As we see the rights of students on campuses threatened while protesting for Palestine, we weep for the right of free speech.

As we observe the free press being abused by Trump, suing media outlets, targeting journalists, dismissing them from the White House, we strongly fear the loss of truth, of discussion and dissent.

As we witness Trump’s disregard of court orders and the actions of judges, while attacking law firms into submission and eroding checks and balances, we are distressed with this attack on the Constitution itself.

As we observe the assault on the rights of women and policies that have created a dangerous environment for our LGBTQ communities, we hold great concern for all.

With the forced closures of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, we have the defunding of the universities that have not knelt and kissed the ring on Trump’s narcissistic finger limiting what they can teach and the research they can do.  This also is a flagrant assault on racial justice within our own nation.

There just is not enough time nor space to list the devastation Trump has wrought on the planet, the global community, and our individual lives.

I personally have lost the freedom to not fear for my daughter and granddaughter’s future. I have lost the freedom to be proud of my country, to trust my government, to know it is protector of human rights and the rule of law. 

So I leave you with a much used but much truthful writing attributed to Pastor Martin Niemoller.  Maybe you have just forgotten it:

First they came for the Communists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionist

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews

And I did not speak out 

Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me

And there was no one left

To speak out for me

Joan Storey

Guilderland