Politicians and TV talking heads like to say, “This isn’t America.” They say that every time we witness another act of outrageous behavior, such as the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol.
What they really are trying to say, I think, is that this isn’t the way we think of America, or the way we think it should be. It is not the ideal we are trying to live up to.
But of course, right now, this is America. We are showing all the cracks of our racial prejudices and political divisions.
Instead of just oppressing Black and Brown people, Americans are also attacking people who appear to be of Asian descent — people just walking down the street, riding public transit or sitting in a restaurant. Somebody shoots workers in a spa.
We like to write that #blacklives matter and #bluelives matter and #asianlives matter. How about just #endhate? Or #endprejudiceanddiscrimination?
Better yet, how about #respect?
As for #love, that’s going to take a while.
Michael Hart, West Ridge
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End blame game on immigration
When then-President Donald Trump was harshly criticized for the way immigrants at the border of Mexico and the United States were being treated, I made a note to myself that the next president will be equally flayed and hung out to dry. And so it has come to be.
Could all that blaming be replaced by resolve? So much time, words and energy are wasted in blame, which helps no one, especially the human beings marching across dangerous countries only to end up standing and waiting at a border crossing.
Let the bickering between the Democratic and Republican parties end once and for all. Let’s find real solutions to our immigration problems.
Kathleen Melia, Niles
