Letter to the editor

My friend Eben Henson’s column at the top of your November 1st Opinion page argued that the election was a simple choice between remaining “wealthy and free” (with Republicans) or being run by “economically illiterate authoritarians” (with Democrats). Eben hoped that “common sense candidates” would defeat Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed whom he mistakenly implied supported al-Qaeda, Texan James Talarico, whom he called “a far-left Marxist,” and Maine’s Troy Jackson, whom he called “the radical socialist/Marxist.” He warned Americans not to be taken in by the “siren song of ‘free stuff’.” They weren’t. That is, they weren’t taken in by President Trump’s promise of $5,000 to every American if the Republicans prevailed. Eben’s dichotomy between freedom-loving capitalistic Americans and authoritarian Marxist/communist societies is both simplistic and misleading.

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