Letters to the editor on Biden speech, vaccines, drivers and personal responsibility

State of the Union

Nothing President Biden said in his speech on Wednesday night spoke louder to the American people than the optics that were all around him. Namely the fact that in a room of all vaccinated people, everyone was still wearing a mask except for him.

How in the world does he expect to talk everyone into getting the vaccine when they see a room full of vaccinated people still masked up and distancing when he keeps saying if they’d just get the shot they can get back to “normal.” Huh?

I got vaccinated because I want to live and get back to normal too, but me trying to convince others to do the same was not helped by the example in Congress on Wednesday night. Everyone should have been unmasked and he could have said, see folks, this what the world looks when you get the vaccine, ain’t it grand? Instead he did the opposite. Thanks a lot, Joe.

Masks and vaccines

539,732 deaths. Since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, the United States has lost approximately 539,732 citizens to the virus. Many of us have lost loved ones to this deadly virus. Many are still suffering adverse effects from the virus. We can do better. We need to do better.

I implore you to continue masking in public areas and to get a vaccine. Masks work. Vaccines work. Physicians and epidemiologists have been studying viruses for many years. This virus got pushed to the forefront due to sheer necessity. Safety trials took place and the vaccines are safe and effective. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 37.7% of Kansans have received at least one dose of the covid-19 vaccine. We can still do better!

Please visit https://www.sedgwickcounty.org/covid-19/vaccine/ for more information on getting vaccinated in Sedgwick County. For overall coronavirus information, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/index.htm.

Wichita drivers

Do people in this town know how to drive or think responsible? I’m so tired of drivers who pull out in front of you, cutting you off and nearly causing an accident. Also the people who still text and drive, or for some reason have to speed up past you to save only 2 seconds of where they’re going.

The people who drive late at night and rev their engine is a disgrace as well as disrespectful of others trying to sleep. Why do you feel you have to wake up the neighborhood just because you’re up?

People are too distracted, drive too fast, and don’t care about being safe, or cautious. I think people need a physical driving review every so often. I don’t trust half of the drivers on the road.

Personal responsibility

The number of incidents involving the death of individuals at the hands of the police lately is disturbing to me. Even more disturbing to me is the lack of acknowledgment by the family, the media and the politicians that the individual’s behavior may have, somehow, contributed to their demise.

Almost all of them would be here today if they had simply complied with police commands. But, no, immediately it’s racism. Not everyone, including the police officers, are racist. Not everyone, including the deceased, are choirboys.

There are butthead cops. I’ve run into some myself. But in the most recent cases, where it’s apparent the officers have crossed a line, they are being dealt with through the courts. That’s how the system is supposed to work.

There are also many good cops who deserve to go home to their families after their shift. I’m surprised any of them even try anymore.

Overreacting and burning down your own city accomplishes nothing except to make things worse for you and your family. Oh, and helps certain news organizations to line their pockets.

There’s no sense of personal responsibility. As my boss once said, everyone is staring in their own movie these days.