I am writing in response to the Times News article regarding Larry Wittig’s stance on education in Tamaqua High. I graduated from Tamaqua High School in 2011, earned a BS in environmental science, and am finishing graduate school to be a community-based psychotherapist. I live in the Bay Area but remain rooted to Tamaqua.

I write out of concern for the material pushed by Wittig. He compares socialism and communism to the political ideology that led to the Holocaust, when it was in fact fascism.

This misinformation instills fear of political change. To push narratives about socialism and communism without historical context — US coups, imperialism, intervention, propaganda — doesn’t seem like ethical journalism. If the dangers of socialism and communism must be taught, then, too, must the dangers of capitalism and fascism.

Fascism, white supremacy, and authoritarianism are on the rise in the US. This is alarming to those who understand history and its patterns.

There is a reason over 60% of young folks are embracing a more just society. The billionaire class is losing its grip on the working class and they are desperately clinging to scare tactics to stop this.

I can guarantee that the majority of Tamaqua residents do not fit in the same tax bracket as Wittig.

Coming from a liberation focused lens, one can zoom out and see the larger picture and understand the interconnectedness of events and politics.

However, without this framework in mind, why would Wittig be bringing up the newly elected mayor of New York in a Tamaqua meeting about curriculum? He appears to be pushing his own political agenda and bias. I would label his “makes America great” comment a dogwhistle, but it is far too obvious.

Wittig appears to be a small town carbon copy of DJT. Capitalist systems and structures “make America great” for the few, not the many.

Wittig says higher education produces “nitwit” ideas. His own children obtained higher education. Do these ideas only apply to people he disagrees with?

Indoctrinating children in their formative years does not lead to critical thinking skills.

Vanessa Wagner

San Francisco Bay Area

(Formerly from Tamaqua)