International conflicts matter to all of us

We need to pay attention to what matters. While political insults and manufactured outrage dominate our feeds, Yemeni and Saudi forces have launched a counteroffensive against the Houthis, according to Axios. Americans should be asking what this means for civilians, regional stability and potential American involvement.

Who is protecting innocent people? What commitments are being made in our name? What is the strategy to prevent a wider war? As a former Department of Homeland Security employee from a family with military service across generations, I cannot treat these questions as background noise. Service members have families. Civilians have names. Decisions made behind closed doors carry consequences far beyond Washington.

Our leaders owe us clear explanations, congressional scrutiny and a serious commitment to diplomacy. We can care about our neighborhoods while paying attention to the world. We can demand security while insisting on accountability and the protection of human life. Read beyond the headline. Ask difficult questions. Demand substantive answers from elected officials.

Democracy requires citizens willing to pay attention before the consequences arrive at their own front door. Our attention is valuable. Spend it on what matters.

— Patti Bruno, Easton

Thanks to person who found, returned a missing purse

I would like to express my gratitude to the kind person who found my purse (among the garlic cloves?) at Wegmans Bethlehem on a recent Saturday. You saved me countless hours of worry, not to mention the time it would have taken to replace everything. Thank you many times over.

— Sara Macgowan, Bethlehem

Trump is waging war against science, reality

In the 1940s, scientists endeavored to understand atomic nuclei, a billion times smaller than the width of a human hair, leading to the atomic bomb and ending World War II. The wisdom of selecting real scientists to work on the Manhattan Project, especially J. Robert Oppenheimer, is unquestionable.

Would this have been successful if Gen. Leslie Groves had chosen someone like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as program leader? He would not, but Donald Trump might. Sounds ludicrous, except RFK Jr. is just as qualified in physics as he is in biology; not qualified for either. Yet, Trump selected RFK Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services, and Republicans overwhelmingly approved.

Trump’s second term is a war not just against science, but against reality, his worst claim being that he won in 2020 and elections are rigged. More frightening is how Trump is sustaining this fictional reality, including his self-immortalization: currency, passports, the Kennedy Center and a giant banner with Trump’s face draped over the Department of Justice.

Even when he uses “America” instead of “Trump,” he is immortalizing himself. Changing Lake Ontario to Lake America captures Trump’s presidential legacy since the suggested new pneumonic for the Great Lakes, one that all children will remember, is SHAME.

— Gary G. DeLeo, Hanover Township, Northampton County

Despite Mackenzie’s claims, voting record isn’t bipartisan

In recent columns published in The Morning Call, Ryan Mackenzie emphasizes bipartisanship. Unfortunately, his voting record indicates he is extremely partisan. In a chart published recently by the Philadelphia Inquirer, it was reported that Mackenzie voted with Donald Trump’s GOP 99.2% of the time. Mackenzie talks a good game, but he’s not bipartisan.

— Michael Chomko, Allentown

Watching college football shows more than a game

I enjoy college football on Saturdays; all the pageantry, exuberance and wonderment in a stadium full of 100,000 faces (mostly energized students) cheering/booing and having a blast. For me, an older football fanatic, it’s always entertaining and encouraging to watch.

Even in a basement chair, each seat and camera angle from the big screen shows shoulder-to-shoulder kids acting like kids. It’s a great visual that demonstrates how college life has more to offer other than academics. School pride, rooting for your team, engaging in “good clean fun” and sportsmanship — just as important as Intro to Psychology 101.

Enjoy your freeness for now, students. And continue to employ responsibility, tolerance and leadership while learning with an open mind. Ease your way into adulthood — have a plan, stick to it and, if things go awry, be pragmatic.

Be sure to remind those that follow of the dangers unchecked power has from those who seek arbitrary ambitions. Be reassuring, explain democracy has a strong built-in stain applicator, fast-acting when need be; includes easy to understand instructions; and is called the Constitution.

And like football, when interpreted and executed correctly within the rules, the “Great Experiment” works.

— John Schmoyer, North Whitehall Township

We need to end era of presidential cruelty

My earliest memory of a president is George H.W. Bush, a gentleman. Over the years, when I disagreed with presidential policies, from both parties, at least I knew they were serious and well-intentioned.

What I can’t stand are cruel, callous, immature, vain and corrupt policies or actions: The president mocking prior presidents at the White House wall of fame; draconian deportation policies; immature artificial intelligence videos and images; building monuments and naming buildings after yourself rather than focusing on affordability, housing or healthcare; casually threatening to annihilate Iran during a speech at the United Nations; trolling Canada and renaming lakes; offering $5,000 bribes to vote Republican; banning “fake news” media and berating female reporters.

These are not the actions of a serious person or the most important politician in the world. Mocking your “enemies” and building monuments doesn’t put food on our tables. It’s also beneath that office.

I coach youth sports, and we always stress good sportsmanship. Shouldn’t those values and standards also apply to our political leaders? I know that America is better than this, we can get back to being a serious and compassionate country. Changing the culture starts this November.

— Owen Klicker, Macungie

Election letters

Letters to the editor about candidates and issues in the Nov. 3 general election must be received by 10 a.m. Oct. 22. Election-related letters will not be published after Oct. 29.

The Morning Call publishes letters from readers online and in print several times a week. Submit a letter to the editor at letters@mcall.com. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author(s), and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.