There’s an old saying that, “When you have robbed a person of everything, they no longer fear you.” We are, unfortunately, now at that point.

I am a Veteran of the United States Airforce, serving first as a Hospital Commander and then as a Medical Group Commander. As a military member, you take an Oath of Office. That oath does not give any individual the right to selectively swear to uphold only those Amendments of the Constitution that they like or choose to like. The oath is all or none. It is everlasting. It applies to the defense of every American and to the entire Republic.

My very first military assignment was at Loring Air Force Base in Maine. Following my military career and after being stationed at multiple Air Force Bases across the country, I chose to return to Maine to make it my home because of the open and warm acceptance of the people in Northern Maine, from Limestone to Caribou, to Presque Isle, to Fort Kent, to Allagash, to Sinclair, and to the many other surrounding communities in the region. 

I traveled to Lewiston from Dover-Foxcroft on December 13 to show my unconditional support for all of Maine’s Somali Americans. I felt I had to be tthere, especially given the hostility of the current occupant of the Oval Office towards immigrants, people of color and anyone who does not look like him or agree with his evil and power hungry politics. Inclusion benefits us all, and it certainly benefits Maine and America.

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Growing up in a poverty stricken and crime ridden area in Houston, Texas, I recall a very sad day for my father and my family. That was the day that my paternal grandfather disappeared. One day my grandfather left home as usual, however no one in our family ever saw him again. We searched and searched but never found him. We filed a missing person report with the police, but at that time, the police had no interest in looking for a missing Black man in Houston, Texas. He simply disappeared. My father, a truck driver, personally searched for him time and again without any success. This troubled my Dad throughout his life until his passing in1988. My not knowing troubles me to this day.

I make these comments because of what I see happening in Maine today. It gouges into my soul, with so many of our fellow citizens disappearing, not to be seen again, all because of the inhumane tactics of ICE and this administration. I thought that we had evolved beyond those days of my childhood, but we have come full circle since then, given what my Dad had to go through dealing with the disappearance of his own father. What we are seeing today is simply pure evil, a lack of compassion and basic inhumanity. Because of what my Dad experienced, he made it his mission to ensure that his children would not participate in or perpetuate the inhumane characteristics and policies that are so prevalent today.

The role of a citizen is to keep your mouth open–especially today. When you see injustice, you have a duty and a responsibility to stand up and speak out. The people in the White House, including Trump and his cabinet, don’t understand people. They just don’t get it. What they are soon going to learn is that injustice never rules forever. Their day, and their time, is coming.

I’m at the point in my life where I don’t want the last words that cross my lips to be, “I could have, I should have.” I’m going to do the best damn job that I possibly can. We as a community, we as a state, we have got to stick together. 

Trust yourself, believe in each other, and stay strong together.

Richard A. Evans, MD

Dover-Foxcroft