Who defines what’s unAmerican?

Who defines what’s unAmerican?

I would like to applaud State Rep. Bob Hagan for taking a stand against the big oil and gas companies and D&L Energy, and for trying to get to the truth about the entire process of fracking including the disposal of its wastewater. To take such a stand is not a popular thing to do-even for a “regular” American citizen. A politician has so much more on the line when taking an unpopular stand.

I am thinking about a letter to the editor in the Dec. 8 Vindicator. The author of that letter implied that environmentalists or anyone who thinks “green” is really “red.” I object to being labeled a Communist just because I’m concerned about the beauty and the well-being of our country and the health of its citizens. The implication that, if you are opposed to fracking, you are unAmerican really bothers me.

I see the drill rigs with their flags flying, and I think that I’m supposed to feel guilty for not wanting to salute that rig. I watch the advertisements for “Patriot” Water, and I think that I’m supposed to feel that I’m unpatriotic for opposing hydraulic fracture drilling. I know, however, that nothing could be further from the truth. I believe in America and the principles upon which it was founded. I believe in the resourcefulness of the American public. I believe in American intelligence, imagination, and ingenuity.

These beliefs are why I’m opposed to fracking. I know that Americans can develop clean, renewable sources of energy. Whenever I make this point, however, I’m very harshly reminded about Solyndra, the solar panel company that was given money by our government and then went bankrupt. What really bothers me is that no one, except Bob Hagan, mentions that Chesapeake, because it was experiencing financial troubles, sold leases to our land to France. No one seems to mind that Shell is a Dutch company, or that many other gas and oil companies have sold leases or shares, or have gone into joint ventures with China, Korea, and India to avoid bankruptcy.

We Americans need to be educated and need to stop name-calling; and we need to reclaim our land, our responsibility for our economy, and our American dignity.

Pauline Beck, West Middlesex, Pa.