To the editor:

I like to read in these pages about all the things going on around this region. People are getting on with their lives because… they must.

At the same time, I have a deep fear of complacency, because: 1) we may not be aware of what is happening around us, and/or 2) because it seems okay, sort of … normal.

But … things are not normal.

It is not normal to have multiple deadly weather events — floods, wildfires, tornadoes — increasing in frequency each year.

It is not normal to have a government in revenge mode against politicians and cities and universities and media and economists, and even courts that hold different views and are outspoken about it.

It is not normal to make it harder for many people to receive the help they desperately need for their families because a few people have abused the system.

It is not normal to have federal troops patrolling the streets of cities — particularly when they have not been requested.

It is not normal to have a “special” government police force that has a larger budget than nearly every country in the world.

It is not normal to stop support for public education.

It is not normal to stop support for scientific research into medicine and climate change because the results might negatively affect the bottom line of some companies.

It is not normal to try to erase episodes in the history of our country that are embarrassingly awful, because, in fact, they did happen.

It is not normal to ban any books in this country.

It is not normal for America to stop aiding countries less fortunate than ours.

These things are not normal, neighbors.

Katharine Preston

Essex