A gathering, planned for the Hall of Flags at 10 a.m. Wednesday, is being organized by agencies who serve the poor in Maine as a comment on the current administration’s policies that effect the disenfranchised.

I would like to challenge anyone who is concerned about the conditions of those who are least able to defend themselves to fast on that day. People can pray and fast, or just fast. Six hours, 12 hours, 24, whatever they can manage.

Fasters don’t have to share my faith. Even those who share my faith rarely share my convictions publicly. Some of the wisest people I’ve ever known do not share my faith. What they do share is the belief that “a society is only as good as the way it treats its poorest people.”

Nehemiah, a prophet and governor, knew this in 445 B.C., when he rebuilt Jerusalem. King Solomon knew it before he went rogue and followed his lust for power. Jesus knew it. Gandhi knew it. Buddha knew it. President Barack Obama, most days, knows it. I believe that Gov. Paul LePage knows it too, somewhere deep deep inside.

My challenge to fast has nothing to do with the Hall of Flags gathering, but I will be there. People who can’t make it to Augusta could simply give up a meal that day. Tell their friends. Call it a mini-hunger strike, or a cleansing fast (all the rage among the granola generation). I will be praying that LePage has a change of heart.

I have seen even the most pompous thugs change with the right motivation and inspiration. I believe LePage can change, too.

Chuck Morse

Fairfield

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