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Sarah Dashon of Sanford is an educator, student, mother and proud Mainer.
I have debated saying something, over and over but after reading a letter to the editor published recently by the Bangor Daily News, I feel as if I have to say something.
I have not always been a fan of Gov. Janet Mills, and honestly I think most politicians are corrupt and purchased with very little room to do anything of their own accord. Seeing President Donald Trump essentially attack our governor in front of others, in an attempt to bully, belittle and make an example of her and of the great state of Maine — well, I was furious. So when she said, “I’ll see you in court,” I’ve never been so proud!
This was not a rude or malicious retort. She did not meet him at the level to which he tries to bring people. She kept her head high.
The great state of Maine has been my home for my entire life. I have had the pleasure of living in northern Maine and having family in the south (downstate) and so I have visited and lived in every place in between. I know some of the hardest working people in this state. Educators, masons, electricians, hospitality workers, business owners, construction workers and contractors, home health care workers, child care providers and every other job you can think of.
So when I tell you, we need someone who is willing to go to bat for us, this isn’t about transgender athletes in sports. This is about a president thinking that on a whim, and for his own agenda, he can bend and manipulate law to suit his needs and make cuts, and decisions accordingly.
I’m proud of Mills for taking the high road and telling the president she is following state and federal regulations. That’s a perfectly respectful reply in the moment. This was not a conversation to be having in front of the entire group of governors. His reply? To threaten to take away all government funding unless we comply. What does that mean?
Health insurance, food assistance, college funding, athletics and student support, education,
housing help including first-time home buyers and U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loans, business loans, disaster relief loans, conservations and land trust loans, farm loans?
You don’t need assistance and don’t own a business? So you don’t really care, huh? OK, well what about the government funding that helps with our roadways and infrastructure? What about the highways? Do you care yet?
The point is, I don’t really agree with a lot of what the politicians say or do (and don’t do), but I will say that I have a family and I don’t want to be in a state where at any point, anyone can make threats against us with no checks and balances. When Mills said, “I’ll see you in court,” she was saying: Please follow the proper channels if you want to make my people do anything.
For the moment, we live in a constitutional federal republic (not a dictatorship), and whether you understand it or not, the president needs to start acting accordingly.
