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Letters to the Editor

No longer giving Trump the benefit of the doubt

I am a 73-year-old lifetime independent voter who was surprised by Donald Trump’s victory but who, after the election, wanted him to succeed. Repeat, I wanted him to succeed.

I really felt it was time to set aside partisan politics and focus on supporting the new U.S. president. After all, wouldn’t most Americans want to see more jobs stay in the country, have more affordable health care with reduced taxes and finally achieve immigration reform, etc. He made it sound so easy to do. It wasn’t happening because the politicians were incompetent.

However, since the election, the president’s tweets and his traveling sideshow actions have sidetracked that worthwhile agenda and, I am saddened to say, he does not appear to have the chops for the job. There is really no need to reiterate his long list the personal blunders, half-truths and changed stories.

I realize that there are those who will support him no matter what but, as it turns out, having a real estate businessman in the Oval Office who seems unwilling to take advice from experienced political advisers has not been great training for the balanced judgment required of any U.S. president.

I lived through Watergate and President Nixon’s resignation. As much as it pains me to say it, I think President Trump should consider resigning and save the country another trip through the washing machine.

Are you really feeling greater?

I am sorry to have to say this but it’s just not working. I have had enough.

Greg Smith

Haiku

*****

President not entitled to be blindly supported

There seem to be a lot of letters saying “we should support the president.” What exactly does that mean? Should we blindly support him no matter what he does? Suppose that he deployed troops against space monsters that only he can see — should we support that? Suppose that he tried to re-establish slavery — support that or not?

Those examples are obviously extreme, but they illustrate the point that there are situations where it is clearly wrong to support the president. If there are lines that must not be crossed, then the unqualified admonition to support the president is meaningless. Instead, the question becomes: What behaviors or actions disqualify the president from deserving support?

Donald Trump’s behavior, both before and especially after he became president, has caused many Americans great concern. The examples are too many to list. Many well-meaning people suspect that he might be, quite literally, mentally ill. If the president’s actions tell us that he is incapable of handing the demands of the office, it is our solemn duty to oppose rather than to support him.

We expect a president to advance his political party’s ideology. We also expect the opposing party to disagree and work against that. That’s the usual workings of government, but that battle over political ideology is not the main issue now. People are opposing Trump because he is doing things that are just plain nuts.

Mitch Bradley

Makawao

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Father’s letter-writing practice passed to son

I got into the habit of writing letters to the editor because my father wrote letters to the editor.

I especially remember one of his letters. It was fall in the small town of Rockville in central Minnesota. We had our first snowfall. Papa told me to get the gun, that we were going hunting. We headed toward the Sauk River and we could hear chopping sounds. In that area, there were ancient oak trees. Blue cranes built their stick nests in those trees. Papa became angry. He asked me how old I was. I told him 12. Well, that’s old enough, you take the gun and hunt by yourself. I’ve got something I have to do.

Several days later, Papa’s letter appeared in the local newspaper. He wanted the nesting area of the blue cranes to be declared the Rockville Rookery and receive government protection.

His wish was granted, but there was no happy ending. Two miles upstream was a granite shed. To polish granite, metal BBs are placed on the granite, a large metal disc rotates the BBs. Water carries the stone dust and metal filings into the river. The metal filings rusted, turning the river yellow. The fish that the cranes depended on disappeared. The cranes left and the nests are empty now.

Tom Hansen

Lahaina

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