Letters to the Editor: For fascism to be defeated, ordinary people must rise up and say ‘no’

To the editor: It took me many years to understand why “ordinary” people allowed the Nazis to murder their fellow countrymen. Finally it became obvious to me: In countries where the majority of Jews were rescued or escaped, citizens banded together and said “no.” (“My grandfather’s teacher, murdered for resisting Nazis, has lessons for Americans today,” Opinion, Oct. 26)
Like the Norwegian schoolteacher in Paul Thornton’s story, these individuals often took great risks and lost their livelihoods and even their lives. Yes, they feared a loss of income and security, but they recognized that some things are more important than others, such as protecting lives and freedom.
Since World War II, the United States has not faced a serious threat to its basic freedoms. Now we are faced with fascism: the rise of nationalism, the targeting of certain groups of people, authoritarianism, interference with our elections and the co-mingling of religion and government.
Like the circumstances surrounding the heroic teacher Lars Nødtvedt, sometimes people must put fealty to the ideals of their country ahead of personal wants and needs. For the United States, that time is now.
Linda Mele Johnson, Long Beach
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To the editor: I was inspired by the heroism of the teachers in Nazi-occupied Norway who refused the Nazi curriculum. Thornton’s story of Nødtvedt’s death after torture, murdered for resisting fascists, offers us a lesson in the importance of understanding who are the true “enemies within” a society: not the dedicated civil servants who preserve our communities and democracy, but the fascists who seek to rule by edict and fear.
With all the evidence of current efforts to derail our own democracy, why has the Los Angeles Times not shown the courage to follow the information in its own reporting, which would lead to an endorsement of Kamala Harris for president?
Why has the Washington Post similarly not followed its own reporting to endorse Harris? Are our major news organizations afraid of the threats made by the other candidate, that he will target news organizations he does not like?
My neighbors dropped their subscription to this newspaper. Perhaps I should as well.
Ellen Gruenbaum, Redlands