Education reform is answer
to attacks on experts
Suppose that you went to your family doctor because you had a sore throat and were running a fever. After his examination he advises you to take a covid shot. You think about this suggestion for a few minutes and decline the shot. When he asks you why you tell him there are a lot of reasons which are as follows: (1) You don't like shots because they hurt; (2) If you get sicker you can always take a shot then; (3) You remember something that you heard on TV that doctors make more money by requiring you to take a shot; (4) You don't like experts in general; and (5) You are not about to take the shot unless Trump tells me to. He's the only one I trust.
Consider the large number of voters that question global warming. This is all part of the movement to discredit experts. Part of the answer is the power of social media to spread misinformation about an issue. Somehow politics is once again overriding public health concerns and this movement seems to be picking up steam. Trump, as usual, isn't about to urge citizens to take the shot because somebody else's health has never been his concern and he doesn't want to alienate his base by appearing to agree with Democrats.
With the virus picking up steam the failure to take the shot is going to make things much worse than necessary. The question is why there is such opposition to sound medical advice. You would think that Republicans would be in favor of the shot, since a large percent of voters favor it, but once again they have lockjaw.
Thomas Jefferson once said that the cornerstone of democracy rests on the foundation of an educated electorate. In the United States our educational system has been badly in need of reform for quite some time and we are paying the price. How can you expect an undereducated a person to make a wise choice on a particular matter if they really don't understand the basic facts? I am afraid many of us assume that many voters are better informed than they really are. When all you know about an issues is what Fox News and Trump says you know there is a lot of hard work ahead to discredit these news sources.
Educational reform is of such magnitude that our government has been hesitant to touch it, and as so often is the case, kicks the can on down the street. However refusing to deal with an important issue actually means that you are satisfied with how things are. In my opinion the first thing our government needs to do is make educational reform a priority issue, and to pump a large amount of money into the educational system. But this solution has been on the table for years without any action. Also, this would be a shot in the arm for teachers have been underpaid for years.
Bass Trumbo
Fayetteville
New election laws intended
to suppress voter participation
Your editorial meant to clarify the objectives and changes proposed by the Republican led Texas state legislature highlights the objectives of recent numerous state legislative voting laws. These laws (they are not all the same) do not encourage more Americans to participate in the voting process, they limit voting in a variety of ways.
If Republicans are terrified of voter fraud (none discovered after extensive investigation and false outrage by conservatives) how about your journalists mentioning that egregious point? Perhaps the real intent of these state legislative efforts are not to prevent voter fraud but to restrict voter participation.
Requiring voters to present voter identification is reasonable, restricting voters ability and accessibility to vote in democratic elections because your party would lose an election if voting is widely available to all eligible voters is telling. Why wouldn't our nation and its representatives want to encourage every eligible voter to participate in America's election process?
Removing unnecessary restrictions and providing accessible, widely available venues and forms of voter participation would remove the suggestion of one party's quest to restrict voter participation. Because when you point out unnecessary outrage and the false narrative of wide spread voter fraud voiced by Republican led state legislatures (almost non existent in the last election despite expanded forms of voter access) you expose the heart of this conflict.
Kristen Meyer
Fayetteville