Letters: Voting, Black Lives Matter and COVID-19

Black Lives Matter’s Threat to the U.S.

Black Lives Matter (BLM), while truly concerned for minority justice, seems equally intent on humiliating white people and abolishing the police, and its Marxist leaders also want to overthrow the American government and destroy Israel. So no one should be surprised that celebrity BLM supporters such as Ice Cube and others are now spreading Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s vicious Jew-hatred.

This is happening as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tries to permanently weaken the United States while COVID-19 is spreading in this country. Unlike the old Soviet Union, the CCP is rich enough to bribe Washington elites, which it has been doing for years, who rationalize exporting American jobs to China and ignoring the CCP’s brutal oppression of Uighurs and laborers, as well as the crushing of Hong Kong’s freedom by claiming that it’s just supporting “global free trade.”
Rueben Gordon, via email

Where Are the Independent Thinkers?
Gregory Smith’s column (“ ‘The Times, They Are a-Changin’,’ ” July 10) was on target regarding the dangers as we move forward post COVID-19 and post protests and looting. 

Also accepted and lauded in the late 20th century were those politicians who were diverse in their beliefs. A few examples were Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who served in the Senate from 1977-2001. He was a Democrat with conservative values and a love of Israel. Then there was Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson, a Democrat with liberal views on domestic policy and conservative views on foreign affairs, another tremendous supporter of the Jewish homeland. Finally, I must note Jacob Javits, who ran for Senate representing the Republican and Liberal parties. There were others, legislators who didn’t need to toe  the party line but could be independent thinkers. This doesn’t exist today.

The late President Ronald Reagan, in a departing speech at the end of his eight years in office, made some prophetic statements that sadly not only have come true but are surpassing anything he could have dreamed possible in terms of destroying the fabric of this great country.

He noted that younger parents are not sure if an “unambivalent” appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children. Well-grounded patriotism is no longer part of the popular culture he explained. He warned of an eradication of the American memory that could result in an erosion of the American spirit. (And here we are with the cancel culture movement.)

Reagan hoped for a resurgence of national pride, with knowledge — an informed patriotism. Sadly, this has not developed. 

Should the Democrats win the 2020 presidential election and also take control of  the Senate, one of the first items on the agenda could be an amendment to the Constitution abolishing the Electoral College.

Obviously I am an unabashed Republican but I also voted Democrat in my younger days. My husband says it goes in cycles. This time, however, Pandora’s box has opened and what has flown out could be the winds of the downfall of America as the paradigm of a society where free will and independent thinking is a paramount value.
Clarisse Schlesinger, Los Angeles

Congress Must Fund Vote-by-Mail in Every State
COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on our families, our economy and our elections. But Congress has the power to intervene right now.

In response to safety concerns and pressure from constituents like me, Congress already has passed limited funds to expand absentee voting, online registration and in-person early voting but it’s simply not enough.

Without $4 billion in total funding for election assistance, voters may not be able to make their voices heard during one of the most important elections of our lifetimes. We need our leaders to prevent a situation where any voter is forced to choose between protecting their health and casting their ballot.

While these policies are critical as we recover from this national crisis, voting reforms like expanding no-excuse absentee voting and online voter registration are common-sense changes that will help voters participate in the political process. Multiple states already have adopted vote-by-mail, and their models could be implemented across the country. 

I expect Congress to provide more economic relief but the next bill also needs to include expanded funding for mail-in voting, more early voting at safe polling places, and other options to make voting as safe as possible this November.

If voting by mail is good enough for President Donald Trump, it should be good enough for all of us. Congress needs to make it possible for every eligible American to vote by mail if they choose to do so.
Marianne Titiriga, via email

Self-Perpetuating Nakba
A friend wrote: “I wonder how long Palestinian resentment over ‘the Nakba’ (Catastrophe in Arabic) would continue. I can imagine, ‘This is where our family home stood before the Jews took it’ being passed on from generation to generation.”

My response? Palestinian resentment over the Nakba of 1948 could conceivably could continue forever. Palestinians, with the encouragement of good-hearted sympathizers, have produced little other than resentment and hatred and terror.

The Jews slaughtered and expelled from Muslim countries did not stew in their Nakba. They moved on.

The Jews tortured and slaughtered in Germany did not stew in their Nakba. They didn’t go back to Germany to kill German babies or blow up German kindergartens. 

The Jews moved on.

Hundreds of peoples throughout history were displaced in their Nakbas and moved on.

The solution to Palestinian resentment? I don’t know. So far, what they’ve asked for or demanded is for the Jews to disappear.

When six of their armies attacked Israel, it could have been the Jewish state’s Nakba. I am glad it wasn’t. 

Those who choose to “resent” as their sole reason for being and choose to continue the “struggle” and choose to teach their children to hate and to kill will do so. Their blood is on the hands of those who feed into the resentment and Nakba.

Those who innocently think it’s a good thing to sympathize with their situation are basically good (but misguided) people. 

It is also the answer to the question “How long can they resent?” The answer, unfortunately, is forever.
Steve Klein, via email

Now it’s your turn. Don’t be shy, submit your letters to the editor. Letters should be no more than 200 words and must include a valid name and city. The Journal reserves the right to edit all letters. letters@jewishjournal.com.