Attempted coup makes mockery of American democracy
While visiting Ireland in the fall of 2018, a cab driver in Dublin brought it up. He wondered how we could elect such a person as the 45th president. “You are America. You are the great beacon of hope and democracy in the world. What has happened to your great country?”
I have asked myself that same question many times. And now, here we are. The revelations of the January 6 committee hearings should be shocking to all of us. Every individual — in and out of government — who had anything to do with this attempted coup must be indicted and prosecuted to the full extent of the law — the 45th president included. The growing list of those who had sought pardons affirms their culpability.
Never again can we hold up as an example to the world of the seamless transition of power. We have sowed the wind. How much of the whirlwind we will reap hinges on the application of the rule of law?
LAWRENCE J. BURNS, NEWNAN
Women need to rethink where their rights stand in society today
Today’s women have forgotten what events have led to their freedom.
For centuries women were the property of their fathers and, upon marriage, their spouses. If women inherited money, it was their spouses or male trustees to handle.
The cliche “keep women pregnant, barefoot and in the kitchen” shows the mindset of men in the past. Women had had to take a backseat to men when it came to working outside the home.
WWI and WWII helped lessen these strings. When men returned from war, these jobs returned to men. After experiencing job freedom during the wars, women were excluded from higher-paying jobs.
When credit cards were introduced, women were restricted. The accounts were in their husband’s name and listed as “Mrs.” Women had to pay higher interest rates when getting loans as late as the 1980s.
Through groundbreaking women in all types of employment, these chains were lifted.
It does not take much to go backward for women to lose hard-fought rights.
SUZETTE GOOLSBY, COLLEGE PARK
