This isn’t my America that I know anymore
In response to “Tear gas for the caravan: A predictable product of an inhumane policy” (Nov. 26):
Has America, the melting pot of the world, come to the point of threatening lethal force on unarmed victims of their own countries? Is there no opportunity for humanitarian aid?
So, if we show up at that border to offer aid, will we be tear gassed on the basis of being in proximity of the “wall”? When did this country become too good for the rest of the world? We should be offering aid at the very least!
Making America first is making America an atrocity. We were built by immigrants. At one point; “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses” was our MO. What happened to us?
Glenda Kilminster, Charlotte
Don’t call us stupid, LaWana Mayfield
In response to “Charlotte City Council is moving toward four-year terms. Should voters get a say?” (Nov. 13):
We get it, LaWana Mayfield. You want to limit our ability to vote you out of office. But you just called us (Democrats, Republicans and Independents) stupid when you stated that “This community has historically voted against its best interest. We have the political ability to do this.”
Perhaps you can educate us ignorant voters on why four-year terms are better that two. Then, put it on a referendum and let us enlightened voters decide. Please remember, Ms. Mayfield, that absolute power corrupts absolutely!
Patrick A. Wlaters, Charlotte
Popular voting alone wouldn’t be enough
To those who suggest using the popular vote for presidential elections instead of the Electoral College, we should be reminded that we do not live in a nation called “The United People of America.” Rather, it is the individual states that agreed to band together, forming The United States of America.
When America was only 13 states, small Rhode Island feared more populated states like New York. Similar concerns exist today by states with low populations when compared with large populations such as California, Texas and Florida. The carefully designed U.S. Constitution provides balance for the vast and varied interests of all of the states that joined this perfect union.
My guess is that it would be a difficult task to alter the Constitution to use the popular vote for national elections.
Peter Hatten, Charlotte
I hope for the best in Mississippi elections
In response to “In Mississippi and beyond, progress on race is agonizingly slow” (Nov. 23):
After reading Taylor Batten’s article, I wished I could send Cindy Hyde-Smith to Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, where she could get a lesson on race relations and man's inhumanity to man. Surely she doesn't want to be remembered for her absolutely deplorable and heinous remarks.
If she would visit The Legacy Museum and the National Museum for Peace and Justice in Montgomery and walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, she would realize how shameful that today the mindset of prejudice still remains.
It is my hope that the voters in the Mississippi Senate election on Tuesday do not cast their votes with a racially biased mindset.
Libba Eleazer, Charlotte
Is wanting gun safety really so bad?
In response to “Banning guns is the start of fascism” (Nov. 25 Opinion):
Common sense doesn't make one a gun control fanatic or fascist like Forum writer Joe Watts suggests. My interest is in improving gun safety. That along with responsible ownership, recreation and sport was once the NRA's mission.
Our society suffers record gun deaths and mass shootings, so let's address this problem with more than "thoughts and prayers.” I blame the NRA for becoming a fear-mongering, profit-centric lobbyist that has defrauded Americans by mischaracterizing the Second Amendment.
The idea presented by past Forum writers to abolish the Second Amendment is a novel remedy. While I will defend gun rights, I do demand universal background checks and sane laws that restrict military grade weaponry and close loopholes. Arming the angry, abusers and ill seems pure folly.
Chip Potts, Mooresville
Trump has split the country with actions
President Trump takes credit for tax reform, judicial appointments and a reduction of governmental regulations while many Republicans could have achieved the same results without alienating half the country. A president always receives credit for good times and blame for bad times and that is ever prevalent now.
Neil Williams, Charlotte