My Turn

By Barbara Slayter

On Saturday, Nov. 15, Danielle Allen, a renowned political scientist, professor, author, and activist for democracy, spoke to about 70 Lincoln residents at Bemis Hall on the topic of “Righting the Democratic Ship: Forging a Path for Positive Change.” Allen was the guest of the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee (LDTC) at a town hall open to all.

I had anticipated a presentation focusing on current dilemmas of the Democratic Party with strategies and tactics for winning a majority of seats in the U.S. Congress and even possibly capturing the presidency in 2028. No doubt Allen could have provided a host of recommendations and insights, but she chose instead to focus our attention on the big picture — our democracy with a small “d” — in which the electoral system captured by destructive party processes divides us, creates a legislature that doesn’t work, and undermines our capacities to govern ourselves effectively.

The analogy she used to describe America’s malfunctioning political institution is stark. America is like a bear with its paw caught in a trap, being attacked by hungry wolves while a wildfire is raging in the surrounding woods. The trap is our electoral system captured by party processes gone wrong. The wolves represent politicians trying to capture the bear for their own or their party’s gain. The wildfire is the turbulence fueled by globalization, technological transformation, climate change, unprecedented migration, and more.

Why can’t the bear get out of this trap? Allen asserted that the primary system for selecting candidates is at the heart of the problem. According to a recent Gallup poll, 28% of Americans consider themselves Republican, 28% Democrat, and 42% independent. In the context of gerrymandering and low voter turnout for primaries, the candidates of both our major parties are chosen by a small sliver of the population and have an incentive to appeal to their extreme positions rather than to work toward policies addressing the needs of a broad swath of citizens. In other words, 5-10% of the electorate determines the candidates during the primaries. The result is that Congress is totally polarized and can’t get anything done.

Allen offered some ideas for addressing these problems:

• Abolish party primaries and have one all-party primary in the state, and
• Lower the barriers to entry to new parties.

She noted that some states including Louisiana, California, Washington, and Alaska are already working on reforming electoral processes, such as having ranked choice voting in the first round of general primary voting. Massachusetts and Oklahoma have coalitions working on ballot initiatives to bring an all-party primary to their state with the two top vote-getters going on to the final round, she said. (Massachusetts is ranked last in democratic practices because we have the lowest primary participation and because 50% of the time there is only one person on the ballot.)

Allen urged us to get involved in this effort. In fact, she recommended that we rebalance our “democracy portfolio,” focusing not only on the candidates and issues of the upcoming elections, but also on the long-term structural problems defined as the trap — the electoral system — and how to escape it.

With that, Allen invited us all to join break-out groups with specific topics to discuss, including questions that will be on the 2026 ballot and policy initiatives that might have bipartisan support. I felt challenged by Professor Allen’s analysis of problems afflicting our beleaguered democracy and glad to be invited to think through some steps toward addressing them through reflection, debate, and analysis.

There were two other speakers as well. Kim Jalet, co-founder of Lincoln Witness, introduced this new Lincoln organization which provides information on immigration policies, as well as advocacy and support on behalf of immigrant communities facing harassment from ICE agents. Lara Sullivan, project manager for Stop Private Jet Expansion (SPJE) at Hanscom and Anywhere, spoke about efforts to protest the proposed expansion of Massport’s Hanscom Field.

For further information about Allen’s work on behalf of strengthening our democracy, both at the state and the national level, see The Renovator, a Substack for all who want to renovate America’s democracy. Allen is a founder of The Renovator.

The LDTC is planning to host two more town halls in the late winter and spring — the first focusing on immigration and due process and the second on health care policies.

Slayter, a Trapelo Road resident, is a member of the LDTC Executive Committee.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

By Kathy Madison

Lincoln has long felt like a kind of refuge — blessed by acres of conserved land, home to miles of wild trails and ponds. Our backyards visited by wildlife from opossums and wild turkeys to coyotes and bears. Homes nestled along quiet roads, with gardens and working farms… a quiet, friendly place where one can feel safe.

But we are not safe.

For me, it began last March. A Maryland father, Kilmer Abrego Garcia, was arrested and deported without trial to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The judge’s orders to return him, along with others, were ignored by this administration. Then in April, a Tufts student was grabbed suddenly by masked men on a Somerville street and flown to Louisiana. In May, ICE agents shattered car windows in Acton and Waltham to grab residents, and one morning in Lincoln, a woman didn’t show up for work. Weeks later we learned that ICE had taken her, her family desperate to find her.    

In May, I cofounded Lincoln Witness with Kim Jalet. We formed in response to a clearly out-of-control immigration enforcement machine. Twenty Lincolnites showed up for our first meeting; today there are forty of us. You may have seen us at the July Fourth parade with our Lady Liberties costumes, or at the Farmer’s Market, handing out Know Your Rights cards and raising emergency funds for immigrant families. Our goal is to serve as witnesses to injustice, to prepare ourselves and others in these dark days, to share information, resources and reach out to our neighboring communities.   

In early September, we asked the Town of Lincoln to spread the word, to offer guidance to residents regarding town-wide policies, to inform and educate, because in this town some people still say, “I have nothing to worry about from ICE since I’m not illegal.” The fact is that since January, more than 170 U.S. citizens have been detained, abused and held for days because ICE considers due process optional.

Recently, an American citizen and veteran experienced the fury of ICE and, when contradicted by his captors, refused to keep silent. He wrote about it here.

Remember when we were told that only the “worst of the worst” would be targeted for deportation? In fact, today there are more than 62,000 people in immigration custody – more than half of whom have no criminal record. The crackdown accelerates. During September more than 1,400 Massachusetts residents have been detained by ICE. Families are ripped apart. Law-abiding, tax-paying workers, children, those suffering serious medical conditions — all have been grabbed by an enforcement agency acting with impunity, with faces masked, with no oversight, and permitted now by the Supreme Court to conduct racial profiling.

Nearly one hundred years ago, another regime in another country first mercilessly stigmatized Jews and then rounded up them up. I’ve often wondered how many of their former neighbors missed them as they disappeared, first slowly, then all at once. Did anyone stay up nights wondering where they’d gone? If they were OK?

Today, in 2025, undocumented immigrants are called “illegals,” a pejorative that strips their humanity, practically equates them with the “worst of the worst,” and decrees that they be detained and deported — even to countries foreign to their original homelands. No consideration is given to those immigrants and refugees who are simply showing up for a regular, scheduled visit to an immigration office on their path to citizenship. For ICE, there’s a quota to fill. And their budget is monstrously huge, bumped up by $75 billion in July.

Here’s the thing. Immigrants are the first targets. But increasingly, any individual or organization that dares to criticize the administration has become a potential enemy. I think about what that fact means for me and countless others who are showing up to confront injustice. Increasingly, we must assess what level of risk we are willing to assume. What words we are willing to publish. What we can say in public. 

It may come down to a simple equation: “the land of the free” = “the home of the brave.”

Editor’s note: Madison, who lives on Concord Road, invites readers to join a vigil, march, and rally starting at Waltham District Court (38 Linden St.) on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 11:00am. Click here to see related events in the area.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.