By Alice Waugh

(This editorial was updated on May 12 and May 17 — scroll down for details.)

This is the first time I’ve written an editorial for the Lincoln Squirrel. I always try to be as even-handed as possible and put aside my own opinions when writing news stories, and I did the same for today’s article headlined “Bemis Hall speakers push claims of 2020 election fraud.” To be clear, I was not able to attend the May 5 event, but I watched the video and spoke with individuals afterwards while objectively reporting what took place. But I want to depart from objectivity for a moment and state unequivocally that I think the claims made at the event are completely spurious.

Seth Keshel and the other speakers are repeating the familiar extremist exercise of taking a desired result and working backwards by cherry-picking data and making incorrect cause-and-effect assumptions. His simplistic “analysis” completely fails to take into account complex factors such as voter turnout, demographics, and motivations, and he and others assume that any unwanted or unexpected outcome must be the result of deliberate trickery by political opponents.

When listening to a political argument, the most important quality for any voter (and reporter, for that matter) is the capacity for critical thinking, which includes being able to accurately evaluate the sources of information on which we base our opinions. As we all know, the media landscape has expanded and fractured to the point that legitimate-looking “news” sites can publish highly biased and even completely fabricated stories that only harden the beliefs of their readers. This applies to both political extremes — Alternet and Occupy Democrats as well as Infowars and Gateway Pundit. When consuming or reacting to news, I urge everyone to consult this chart that illustrates the factual reliability and partisan lean of dozens of print, TV and web news sources (as noted in the site’s methodology section, they go to great lengths to be unbiased in their rankings).

More to the point: to echo one of the speakers, “I have a lot of questions” — though mine center on the psychology of the people that espouse conspiracy theories and extreme views. Psychologists have plenty to say about cognitive biases including selective perception and the Dunning-Kruger effect, and there are many theories about what causes extreme right-wing political biases in some, and what fuels their underlying feelings of grievance and resentment. Is it attitudes inherited from parents or other authority figures? Is it a natural desire for authority figures that offer easy explanations about a sometimes incomprehensible and frightening world? Is it a simple fear of change, or general paranoia about “others” who they think are trying to take what’s theirs?

These are not questions I ever thought I would have to consider in my capacity as reporter and editor of the Lincoln Squirrel as I try to present both sides of sometimes controversial local issues. Irrational and dangerous political beliefs have landed in our own backyard, and we owe it to ourselves to be vigilant about extremism of all kinds even as we guarantee people’s right to make their arguments. What’s important is not simply condemning those arguments and all types of “fake news,” but trying to understand how one’s opinions are formed.

May 12 update:

Bravo for youTube. A video of the May 5 event was available for a few days, but YouTube took it down shortly after this article was originally published on the evening of May 10 for violating its community guidelines. Those guidelines cover a number of categories, but the video was most likely removed for violating the Elections Misinformation standards, which include a prohibition on videos about election integrity with “content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches changed the outcome of select past national elections, after final election results are officially certified.”

May 17 update:

The YouTube video has been restored. It is also also available on Groton resident John Abrahamsen’s Facebook page, which contains links to other far-right conspiracy sites and commentators. I invite readers to click on the three dots under the right-hand side of the video frame, where users can report videos that violate YouTube standards.

“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 Gus Browne

Adele Peterdi Harvey of Lincoln knows something of what it means to flee from war and find refuge in the United States. She was 11 years old when Soviet tanks rolled through the streets of her village, to crush the Hungarian uprising against Soviet rule in 1956.

Her father, A. John Peterdi, had been a reconnaissance pilot for the Hungarian Air Force during World War II and spent the last few months of the war as a POW on the Russian Front. From 1946 to 1956, John held various jobs in Budapest ranging from commercial pilot to delivering groceries on a motorbike, eventually working at a machine design firm as a draftsman — whatever it took to feed his family.

The Hungarian uprising had lasted only ten days when the Soviet army invaded. Her parents decided the family should flee. Her father contacted his brother, who lived in far western Hungary, for aid in getting the family over the border into Austria. The brother knew farmers living in the border area, and the farmers knew the safest places to cross, unseen by guards.

Adele Peterdi Harvey in 1959

Days later, Adele and her father departed for his brother’s home. If stopped and questioned, Adele’s father had prepared the excuse that his daughter was ill (Adele was small and thin) and the trip was for health reasons. The next day, Adele’s mother followed with one of her adult sons. (The other son would cross the border later.) Her prepared excuse was that she was joining her husband for their daughter’s convalescence. To avoid suspicion, none of them carried any luggage, save for one small briefcase containing papers.

A day or so later the family boarded a train headed west. They were instructed to exit the train at a stop near the Austrian border, to run to the nearest building, and then wait for the guides who would arrive after dark. At nightfall, local people took them through plowed fields toward the Austrian border. They were instructed to drop to the ground and stay still if they saw searchlights or the bright headlights of border patrols.

There came a moment in the darkness when Adele believed they had reached Austria. She reached down, grabbed a handful of dirt, and put it in her pocket. This time when headlights appeared, their guides told them to run through a ditch and toward the lights. They were indeed in Austria, and they were safe. The car was driven by two young American men who had come to that area specifically to assist Hungarians fleeing the invading Russians.

Eventually, 200,000 Hungarians fled their country during the uprising, and many found their way to the United States. Adele’s mother used her fluent German and capable English to contact a cousin who lived in Detroit, and he agreed to sponsor the family. A month or so later, the family was flown to the U.S. and taken to Camp Kilmer in central New Jersey, where Operation Safe Haven welcomed thousands of Hungarian refugees into the United States. By chance, Adele’s father was recognized by a Hungarian-American who had immigrated years before and was volunteering with the resettlement process. He arranged for Adele’s family to live with people in Connecticut who had volunteered to take in a Hungarian family. Thus began their life in America.

Ultimately, Adele’s father learned English, qualified as a draftsman, completed an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, got an MBA, and enjoyed a long career. Her mother got a job on Wall Street as a receptionist and eventually became an administrative assistant. The brother who had accompanied them received a law degree from the University of North Dakota and made his career as an attorney for the federal government. Adele got her degree in English literature from Northwestern in 1967. In 1978, Adele moved to Lincoln with her husband and two sons, and in 2003, her father joined them in Lincoln as well.

Adele’s family could not have seen the Statue of Liberty from Camp Kilmer. But for these refugees from war, Liberty’s torch burned bright and welcoming.

“Lincoln’s History” is an occasional column by members of the Lincoln Historical Society.

Film screening: “Big Night”

The Lincoln Library Film Society presents “Big Night” on Thursday, May 19 at 6 p.m. in the library’s Tarbell Room. Directed by Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott, starring Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, and Minnie Driver. It’s the story of two brothers whose Italian restaurant is on the brink of bankruptcy. Their only chance for success is to risk everything they own on an extravagant feast for bandleader Louis Prima. But their big night is complicated by a lovers’ triangle, a sneaky restaurant rival, and the hilarious perfection of chef Primo.

Club Codman benefit is back

Some of the fashions on display at a previous Club Codman event (click to enlarge). Photos by David Elmes.

Dust off your wigs, platforms, and polyester because the annual Club Codman event benefitting Codman Community Farms is finally returning on Saturday, May 21. It’s like Halloween for grown-ups, minus the kids, plus great music and great drinks. Warm up with local favorite Dadda, then dance the night away with special guest DJ Tony Clarke. Cash bar and free popcorn, plus bragging rights and golden egg trophies for the winners of Club Codman’s first annual costume contest (costumes from the Swinging Sixties to today’s festival wear are very popular and encouraged). Tickets are $60; click here to purchase (the event sells out in advance).

SVdP offers scholarships for job training

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) of Lincoln and Weston is pleased to announce a scholarship opportunity for Lincoln residents in need, thanks to the generous support of the trustees of the Ogden Codman Trust. Scholarships of up to $2,000 are awarded on a rolling basis.

The scholarships are intended for highly motivated adults who want to take courses or obtain job training in order to improve their earning capacity but cannot afford to do so. They are not intended for young adults heading to college for the first time. The goal of this program is to encourage neighbors to imagine a better future and to work toward making lasting changes and gaining financial stability. To apply, email SVdPLincolnWeston@gmail.com or call the St. Julia Parish office at 781-899-2611, ext. 4. For more information, visit www.svdplincolnweston.org.

Glass wins academic honors

Lincoln resident Emily Glass, a senior at Colby College, was recently inducted into Colby’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa as well as the Government Department’s Honor Society, Pi Sigma Alpha. Glass is a 2018 graduate of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.

Gropius House, Codman Estate open house on June 4

Lincoln’s Gropius House and Codman Estate will be free and open to the public on Saturday, June 4, along with the rest of Historic New England’s properties. Hours are 11 a.m.–3 p.m. for the Gropius House and 10 a.m.–2 p.m. for the Codman Estate.