The Sun Journal editorial Aug. 21, “No town halls, no problem,” demeaned the citizens of Lewiston in three ways.

First, the supposition that any emotionally charged meeting will break down into a shouting match proved to be untrue on two occasions: a gay rights ordinance informational meeting held at the Lewiston Middle School, and a meeting held at the Lewiston Armory dealing with the influx of Somalis into the community. Both went off without any problems.

Second, do the people that U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe spoke with on her stealth walk up Lisbon Street during working hours truly represent a cross section of the citizens of Lewiston?

Thirdly, Snowe and our congressional delegation apparently prefer to listen to lobbyists on both sides in the comfort of Washington D.C., than return home and listen to the concerns of the people who elected them.

On Aug. 22, an Associated Press article appeared in which Snowe laments, “People are confused, and rightfully so given how many issues and how many plans are out there.” That begs the question — why isn’t Snowe and the rest of the congressional delegation home explaining it to the people who pay their salaries?

In closing, a quote attributed to the late John Wayne states, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” I would hope that anyone reading a story extolling the courage of any of our Maine congressional members will give it its just due by depositing it into a trash can.

Robert Macdonald, Lewiston