Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Like so many of you, my heart has been burdened these past months by the choice which presents itself to us in this upcoming election. As a former Massachusetts “Independent” and now a New Hampshire Democrat, I see my community at odds around what, by all rights, should be an obvious choice for the top office this November. 

My deep concern lies in that the party of my parents and grandparents, the “grand old party,” the party which upheld the values of my youth, has been hijacked by a group of people who seem to want anything but the best for our nation and its future generations. How could this have happened? There are many theories and historical roots for this place in which we find ourselves, but those are not the subject of this letter. 

What most concerns me is what it says about who we are as human beings, that we can vote for someone who is a convicted felon and who so obviously has little or no interest in protecting the people of this nation or its way of government. What are we becoming when our loyalty to party overrules our loyalty to each other as human beings and to our nation, which has stood for freedom throughout the years?
 
I beg of each of you that, before entering that voting booth (or casting your absentee ballot), you examine deeply your conscience and your soul as you consider the weight of your vote, not just on you personally but on future generations of the nation you love and on the world, which depends on the wisdom, morality, and respect for law which the United States has sought to exemplify.
 
With gratitude for your willingness to read this letter and trust in your decision,
Diana Phillips
Andover