‘Big Lie’ used to undermine peaceful transfer of power
Okay, never mind that Donald Trump tells blatantly obvious lies. That he encourages prejudice and hatred. That he turns on people who displease him. Or that, with “alternate electors” and other scams, he tries to cheat at elections -- the very thing he accuses opponents of doing. And that he deliberately twists the meaning of words like “freedom” and “democracy”.
But remember that he used the Big Lie to try to undermine the very process by which this country ensures a peaceful transfer of power.
MIKE WEST, MARIETTA
Character matters when choosing a president
He’s right! This is a witch hunt, and the witch has been caught, but not before he has cast a spell over millions of our fellow Americans who don’t believe their eyes nor their ears, as in the events of January 6th or requests to count votes that don’t exist.
Character should matter, not charisma. No one is perfect. We need to choose if we want our tax dollars to build a wall or infrastructure (highways, bridges, airports, etc.). Whatever happened to “Love your neighbor as yourself”?
We do need to address immigration, homelessness and many other problems facing this nation, but we can do this humanely and we can find solutions that will bring us together and keep us the great nation that we are -- not pull us further apart.
ELAINE BLUMENTHAL, VININGS
Impeachment is attempt to appease Trump followers
So, Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans are pursuing an impeachment investigation of President Biden. This should surprise no one because it is an obvious attempt at tit-for-tat for the Democrats’ twice impeaching Trump.
The difference is that the Democrats had tangible charges supported by concrete evidence to level against Trump, while the Republicans have produced absolutely nothing that would warrant Biden’s impeachment. Whenever the Republicans feel threatened, they resort to the same tattered playbook, which calls for vicious attacks on the Democrats no matter how absurd the reasons might be.
Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene specializes in such attacks and figures to be prominently involved in the impeachment proceedings. She wants states to secede if the investigation fails. She also wants Trump’s two impeachments to be expunged.
These extreme actions by right-wing MAGA Republicans are part of their attempt to appease Trump and his followers and to throw our government into chaos from which only Trump, the Redeemer, can save us.
LUCAS CARPENTER, CONYERS
Reparations can help ease the suffering of others
Reparations is a hot-button topic in America. Maureen Downey’s latest column introduced an interesting perspective on reparations for Black students whose high school education failed to take them seriously, and left millions to struggle with depression and a negative view of society.
Currently in England, many families that built their wealth on the backs of Black Caribbean sugar plantation workers are considering ways to pay reparations.
The concept of reparations implicitly carries the idea of responsibility, if not guilt. That idea is unpalatable to most Americans, yet our country was built on the repression of non-white people in general and Blacks in particular.
To what extent are privileged white people directly or indirectly responsible? This moral question is one that each individual needs to ponder. If the answer is “yes,” a plan of action needs to ensue. If it’s “no,” then at least have the decency to stay out of the way of those who do accept responsibility to ameliorate the sufferings of others.
RICKS CARSON, ATLANTA
