Scoring Points
May I suggest to the student who wrote the op-ed “Don’t Use Tragedy to Win Political Points” (Aug. 15) that, while his title makes an excellent point, he only critiques Democrats, somehow neglecting that Republicans do exactly the same thing, perhaps even more so.
Perhaps the high schooler doesn’t recall the umpteen times, after every mass shooting for decades, when elected Republican leaders at every level scolded Democrats that it’s “too soon” for legislation to control gun violence.
I hope the writer’s parents and rabbi will let him know that when the current occupant of the White House visited hospital workers in El Paso who treated the wounded from the recent mass shooting there, he seemed incapable of empathy.
Instead, he boasted about the crowd size at his political rallies, then posed for a photo while holding an orphaned, injured infant, grinning and gesturing with two thumbs-up. This behavior is not befitting the president of the United States — or any mensch.
The United States must deal responsibly with the issues of asylum-seekers, immigration and gun violence.
But as I hope we all learned in school, name-calling, belittling, impulsive statements and serving wealth as your master are not the basis of leadership.
Phyllis Rubin | Wynnewood
Trump’s Comments Taken out of Context
Jacqueline Baver’s letter (“The Big Picture,” Aug 22) brought up bothersome points.
In it she names President Trump as an inciter of violence and hate against our own people, a charge if true would influence me to join the leftist mob trying to impeach him.
So what exactly did the president of the United States actually say or do to be charged by the mob with all of this villainy?
He said nothing that wasn’t pulled out of context or twisted into a pretzel by Democrats to mean what they wanted it to mean. The real haters get a pass, after all they’re Democrats, for their bigotry, while those who stand up against these haters are vilified.
I support Trump for several reasons.
He’s turned the economy around and provided good jobs for our fellow Americans, he’s the only politician to call out the Omars, Tlaibs and AOCs for their blatant anti-Semitism, he’s stifled North Korea’s quest for a bomb, he’s stood up against China’s military and economic aggression and he’s been a huge plus for Israel.
Ms. Baver, please look at the big picture.
Steve Heitner | Port Jefferson Station, New York
This may come as a shock to Phyllis Rubin but I am also extremely upset with the mass shootings of innocent people that has occurred recently. Where we differ is in how we stop, not likely to happen anytime soon, or at least slow down their frequencies. The disease is deeply embedded in our culture. There was a time, and not too long ago, that this type of butchery didn’t happen. So what’s changed? Human life was considered sacred, there was a religious tone to society, including a heaven and hell. If you wanted a direct path to hell picking up semi-automatic and killing as many people as possible was a definite path to it. People had political differences, but stirring up pure hate against your friends and relatives never happened. There was a father in every home, rules and authority figures were to be respected, and if you didn’t like one or more of either, you learned to deal with the frustration.The boy scouts were for boys and boys only, and it taught them values that were good for both them and society. We had the NRA, very little gun laws and you could walk into any store and easily buy them. I’m not against more background checks nor red flag laws, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that some magical form of legislation is going to cure this problem. It won’t go away even if all the guns do, since it’s the under the surface cultural rot that’s the problem, not the guns. Until you deal with that there will be more mass shootings.