To the editor: Manitowoc letter-writers on 2024 election, Lincoln High School class reunion

Editor’s note: Oct. 25 is the deadline to submit letters to the editor regarding the Nov. 5 election.
Here are this week’s letters to the editor of the Herald Times Reporter. See our letters policy below for details about how to share your views.
If you’re a Republican who doesn’t like your choices in this fall’s presidential election, don’t feel alone. At Republican Voters Against Trump (rvat.org), you can hear the views of dozens of ordinary Republican citizens across the country and why they will not be voting for Donald Trump this time around. 
Among their reasons are: Trump is self-serving and is running to keep himself out of jail; he is narcissistic and believes he is above the law; he buddies up with dictators like Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban. 
Trump, through his lies about a “stolen” election in 2020, is responsible for the Jan. 6 insurrection. He sat in the White House dining room watching the riot on TV for three hours and did nothing. 
Trump is a convicted felon and faces an additional three criminal indictments; he evidences no morals and no empathy. He mocks others, including veterans and the disabled. He spreads a message of hate, condemnation and shame. As such, Trump is not a fit role model for our children or grandchildren. 
As one ordinary Republican put it, “I wouldn’t trust Donald Trump to hold my wallet and I wouldn’t trust him alone in the room with my daughter. Why in the world would I trust him to be president of the United States?”
You’re not a traitor to your party if you refuse to vote for Trump; you’re a patriot standing up for American democracy.
Dan Vander Linden
Manitowoc
Sept. 15, the 1960 Class of Lincoln High School met at Knox’s Silver Valley Bar and Banquet for a mini-reunion. There was a social hour at noon followed by a 1 p.m. extensive dinner in the large dining room. The dessert was a special Manitowoc treat — kneecaps!
Many thanks to Pat Korlesky and Joanie Champeau, co-chairs, and their committee for a wonderful reunion.
The 198 members of our class of 489 who have passed away were remembered with a moment of silence. We miss all our friends.
Following the meal, there was a social gathering at the lovely Gass Lake home of Paul and Karen (1960 classmate) Bouril. Thank you, Paul and Karen.
It was a very wondrous day, ending with the hope that we may repeat it in 2025. God be with you to keep us all healthy and safe.
Chuck Erickson
Burnsville, Minnesota
It’s time to take a stand against the forces actively destroying America. It’s time to take a stand against the far left. They preach communism is the way to go. They may not use that term, but they actively advocate for it. The establishment must go. It throws what it has toward the We the People patriots fighting for our country. The establishment may act like it’s on your side, only to stab you in the back when it matters the most. They will promise one thing, yet deliver the opposite when it comes time to make that crucial decision. Endless amounts of cash will be spent to smear who cares about you over the special-interest groups and the uniparty. Endless amounts of attacks will be sent, and endless amounts of plans will be made to take you down on every side.
I would rather be the only man in a group taking a stand against what I know in my heart is wrong over going with the crowd to “get along.” I am not going to back down, ever, and neither should you. It’s time to let our voices be heard.
They want you to fear them. When you stand up to them, they have nothing. The effectiveness of their weapons is lost. Each time they throw something at you, you go on the offense twice as hard. Just because a battle is won or lost does not mean the war is over. Never give up. Never surrender.
Brayden Myer
Manitowoc
If this year’s ballot booths contained a mirror, who would you see there?
Would the person you saw support a candidacy of vengeance and retribution?
Would the person there deny global climate change, want to get rid of NOAA and be unconcerned about your grandchildren’s future?
Would the face be one demanding the deportation of legal, hard-working immigrants — as in Springfield, Ohio?
Would the person in the mirror insist on equality for all under the law?
Would that reflected person want to imprison journalists, critics, political opponents and reproductive health care workers?
Would that person withdraw America from NATO and other alliances?
Would the image that is reflected force women who have been impregnated through rape or incest to carry the fetus to full term? Or force a mother to carry a nonviable fetus?
Would that person in the mirror want to get rid of the Department of Education, Department of Commerce and the Department of Interior, all vital to our functioning?
Would that person you see be eager to elect to the presidency a convicted sex offender and a felon who still faces more trials and indictments?
Would the voter in the mirror consider the Jan. 6 insurrectionists to be heroes and patriots despite the number of police officers who were injured, the damage done to our Capitol and the attempt to overthrow the election?
Follow your heart and vote for the candidate who is best for America.
Joan Estes
Manitowoc
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Letters to the editor are published in the order in which they are received and letter-writers are limited to having one letter published per month. Letters can be emailed to [email protected] and Editor Brandon Reid at [email protected]. Letters must meet specific guidelines, including being no more than 250 words and be from local authors or on topics of local interest. All submissions must include the name of the person who wrote the letter, their city of residence and a contact phone number. Letters are edited as needed for style, grammar, length, fairness, accuracy and libel.