Gov. Paul LePage’s remarks and actions remind me of “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” the classic fairy tale meant to teach a lesson about honesty, integrity and truth.

The emperor wants to believe he is smarter, better than all of us, that we will be intimidated to admit that we don’t see what is right. Even his closest allies are afraid to be honest with him. In the end, it is a child who proclaims the emperor has no clothes, to the great relief of all, especially the Emperor’s closest “allies.”

I don’t hold out hope for LePage’s inner circle to be the ones to let the emperor know he has no clothes. I count on our lawmakers, those charged with the honorable responsibility to represent all citizens, to realize the urgency of this situation.

LePage’s verbal rants, intimidating remarks and actions and bullying behaviors are steadily tearing away at the very foundations of our great state.

Removal of historical documentation such as the labor panels and names of those who helped make business and industry better for employer and employee is, I fear, only the tip of the iceberg of damage LePage will inflict.

I doubt these actions will encourage the level of integrity of business we strive to attract. Rather, it may deter those very businesses from coming, while sending established businesses packing.

What will be next on the emperor’s list of dislikes? How will it impact us?

The Constitution guarantees our right of opinion, it is how we learn, understand, appreciate, embrace new ideas, and, in turn, make the world a better place while, hopefully, not repeating past mistakes.

We were never told who, or how many, found the labor panels offensive, and I have to wonder? Was it just the emperor?

Kathy Brown

Mount Vernon

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