We should be ashamed every time the Capitol needs protection against Americans

Security fencing around the Capitol was reinstalled over the weekend ahead of the “Justice for J6” rally on Saturday where Donald Trump supporters who were sympathetic to the Jan. 6 insurrection gathered. Americans should hang their heads in shame, even those who didn’t vote for the disgraced ex-president currently in exile.

There will be no follow-up to “Profiles in Courage,” not this year anyway; there’s simply too much cowardice on display. It’s as plentiful as all the disinformation on social media regarding the dangers of vaccinations and the supposedly “stolen” election of 2020.

Where was the outcry when women’s rights were being abandoned in Texas and voting rights undermined in any number of red states? As our once proud republic slips into the category of third world nations, what’s to be done to shore up our democratic foundation, and why are the insurrectionists being hailed as patriots by mindless members of Congress?

Lastly, why are Republicans still mesmerized by a soulless guru with a twisted sense of importance? Isn’t it about time we come up with some answers before the curtain is brought down on this grand experiment in self-rule.

Bob Ory, Elgin

Experience is mandatory

Two years of teaching experience is required for an educational administrative license in Illinois. Therefore, how is it possible that the new CPS superintendent does not have any teaching experience?

Classroom teaching experience is priceless. No one truly understands the stresses, responsibilities and joys of teaching without actually working with students in a class setting. This is the logic behind the law.

How can a superintendent with no experience in a classroom setting be supportive of faculty, students and parents? Would Mayor Lori Lightfoot hire an electrician to work on the city’s transportation system?

True experience is mandatory

RaeAnne Norlock, Darien

Vietnam War and COVID

The number of available ICU beds in Southern Illinois

I remember years ago, during in the Vietnam War, watching daily newscasts which began with reporting of how many of the enemy were killed that day as opposed to Americans. When there were more of them than of us, it was considered a good day. After a few years of this, many of us became jaded, and the reporting became simply a meaningless number.

It seems to have happened again with the pandemic.

We receive daily notifications of how many infected, hospitalized and dead. I guess they have just become meaningless numbers like the Vietnam casualties and, sadly, like the victims of violence on our streets.

It appears we have become a nation of jaded individuals whose only concern is: Can I be left alone to do whatever it is that I want to do? We have lost our sense of unity declaring incorrectly that we are just exercising our individual freedoms no matter what the cost is to others. For some of us, it is hard to accept that this is our “New Normal.”

Daniel Pupo, Orland Park