Letters to the Editor (Feb. 26)
Students are shouting eloquently
I watched, with tears running down my cheeks, our children speaking out against gun violence on national television. Marching together, speaking together, imploring our country’s leadership to act to protect them.
They spoke eloquently, the strength of their voices unlike any voice I have heard from our leaders. These Americans are 16 or 17, or younger, yet they spoke with true wisdom.
These young people are speaking words many of us don’t have the courage to speak to our associates, people in public or to our closest friends. Yet our children are speaking out on national television, sitting face to face with our president.
Our children are brave citizens, showing true strength. I was very impressed how they represented America. We can be sure, too, that our teachers are forming our children for “our” future.
I feel fortunate to witness the display of bravery exhibited by our young people. They are truly my new heroes.
Terry Leiker, Wichita
Know basics, have your say
As citizens, we must be well informed and constantly vigilant if this great experiment, this representative Republic, survives beyond the 231 years since our Constitution was written.
In August 2017, the Annenberg Public Policy Center conducted a conducted a Constitution Day Civic Survey that showed that 37 percent of the respondents could not name any of the rights guaranteed under the First Amendment, and 26 percent could name all three branches of our government.
Also last year, a poll by the Pew Research Center found 22 percent of respondents preferred a system in which a strong leader can make decisions without interference from the Congress or the Judiciary — i.e. a dictatorship.
These findings, along with Russian interference in our elections, show how a phenomenon like Donald Trump could rise. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg summed it by saying, in effect, that if people lose the love for democracy in their hearts, no court in the land can overturn the effects.
In “The Retreat of Western Liberalism,” Edward Luce wrote that while Trump was bad enough, it was what came after him that he feared the most.
William Skaer, Wichita
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This story was originally published February 26, 2018 at 4:00 AM with the headline "Letters to the Editor (Feb. 26)."