To the Editor,

I second what Jill McCorkle wrote in her oped, “Now is not the time for silence.” I posted on Facebook an agreement to a post showing Obama and Biden with the caption, “Don’t you miss them?” I received some terse, even strident replies from those who disagreed.

I remember when people could disagree and still be friends. Not too long ago, to agree to disagree was a civil way friends dealt with conflict or differing opinions. While you are more likely to have disagreements in the era of Facebook, remaining silent is not an option for people who value this democracy. McCorkle asks, “Will you betray those whose rights and freedoms are threatened? Friends of color or a different faith? Those who bravely went into the world to find their place in the LGBT community?”

Remember the saying that came out of Nazi Germany. They came for the Jews and I did nothing. Then they came for homosexuals and I did nothing. Then they came for Catholics and I did nothing. Then they came for me and there was no one left to do anything.

It is important to stand up for what we believe.

I believe what the Statue of Liberty says about “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Thus I disagree with our president about immigration.

I went with a mission team to Nicaragua and saw the people under the dictatorship of Ortega. I felt that it was a matter of time before they were persecuted. As studies have shown, most immigrants come to this country, work hard, raise their families, help them get an education and are good-law abiding citizens.

My ancestors were allowed to come to America as were the in-laws of the president. Now it is fine for you to have a different view from the one I just spelled out. However, we should not cut off our relationship because of this. Sadly, this is happening too frequently in the climate in which we are living in this country.

Therefore, I agree with Jill’s conclusion since I too “hope that some spark of honesty, compassion and goodness might catch and spread and save us before it is too late.”

Stan Smith

Lumberton