Letters to the editor | Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019: Christmas, kindness, ammo, Trump and impeachment

A reason to celebrate Christmas

The holidays (derived from “holy days”) have come again and the Mass of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ (aka “Christmas”) is now acknowledged in such diverse ways that the Holy Family in the stable could have never imagined. As we rush to the next party or buy more gifts online, the question begs, why celebrate Christmas if you don’t believe it? Which leads to the next question: Why believe in Christmas?

The answer is simple: Because it is true.

If you examine the historical Jesus and development of his church over the past 2,000 years, the evidence is overwhelming that Jesus lived, died, and rose again. The church may be full of imperfect humans, but the saving message of Jesus Christ remains constant: He is come to take away the sin of the world.

If there is even the remotest possibility that Jesus of Nazareth was and is the God-man, the promised mashiach, then the events celebrated at Christmas demand our utmost attention. If he is the son of the living God, then shouldn’t we do something about it? Start by truly celebrating his birthday. Then go, pick up your own cross, and follow him. Merry Christmas.

Random acts of kindness

What is a random act of good, of selflessness? It’s when you act compassionately toward someone else, without asking or expecting anything in return. It can give the person doing it a more positive attitude. The person doing the good deed has a chance to reflect more upon themselves.

It can be important to set goals. Such as, how many random acts of good can you do in a certain amount of time? Make your goal attainable where you can follow through.

The world needs more random acts of goodwill and kindness. It makes people come off as enjoyable, and more pleasantly genuine. We have no idea what other people are going through. A random act of kindness can make someone’s day.

Red tape in ammo purchase

Re “Thousands of gun owners being denied ammo purchases” (Page 3A, Dec. 14): I was caught up on this. Because I had not purchased a firearm in five years, I could not pass the $1 background check. I did pass the $19 check and after waiting a few days I got the ammo. I was then told I would have to pass the $19 check every time I bought ammo until I registered a firearm. I filed a form to register an old shotgun.

After more than a month I phoned the Bureau of Firearms and got a recording that they were too busy to give a status report. I emailed my state representatives and the bureau and was told they would not respond to a status request until 90 days after they get the original form. If this isn’t harassment of honest gun owners, I don’t know what is. Why wouldn’t the $19 check be good enough for future purchases? Why do you need to register a firearm? If you are buying ammo they know you have a firearm and they know your address from the background check.

Hypocrisy has no place in discipline

What do you think you are teaching a child when you catch them hitting another child and you yell, “Stop! No hitting!” and hit them on the hand? Absolutely nothing. You are being hypocritical and encouraging the same behavior. You are not teaching them that humans make mistakes and learn from them, or why rules should be followed. You are teaching them to be sneaky and deceitful, while killing their self-esteem. Punishment may work in the moment because the child is scared, but it is not a beneficial method of discipline in the long run and negatively affects children.

When dealing with a child’s misbehavior, adults should practice positive discipline by using respect, kindness, and firmness. We need to let our children learn from their mistakes naturally rather than have them pay; instead of punishment, we need communication and problem solving so our children can grow to be productive members of society with their self-esteem intact.

Some may say, “I got punished and hit, and I turned out fine.” If we had been allowed to simply learn from our mistakes, perhaps we would have turned out better than just “fine.”

GOP masters obstructionism

I just heard Rep. Carol Miller (R-West Virginia) rail about how Democrats have refused to do the people’s work, because they are obsessed with impeachment, saying, “Think what we could have done.”

I’d like to point out that the House of Representatives has passed over 400 bipartisan bills which would bring about improvement in health care, prescription drug prices, public education, housing for veterans, providing medical and mental health care for veterans, job training and placement for low-income Americans, relieving the incredible burden of debt facing our students and providing for repair of our crumbling infrastructure, and a host of other important causes. But her leader, Mitch McConnell, who proudly calls himself the Grim Reaper, refuses to allow the Senate to vote on any of those bills.

It’s the Republicans who are refusing to do the people’s work. Republicans are focused on voter suppression of minorities and low-income people, ripping away safety nets for those same people. And, never forget, giving a trillion-dollar tax break to the wealthy and corporations. The people’s work? Hardly. Just the work of the greedy and wannabe dictators. Kentucky, do the right thing and vote Mitch McConnell out of office.

Dems blinded by hatred

The year 2016 offered the most distressing choice in 13 presidential elections. The Republicans nominated a man any nationally known Democrat — except one — could convincingly defeat. The Democrats then nominated that one.

When Trump won I thought, “He won’t break the country — Americans are too tough for that — and in four years we will have another election. Let’s see what happens.” As I sat and watched, the actions he took did not disturb me. He is a despicable human being, but he has been an OK president.

Unfortunately for the country, Democrats generally have been unable to accept the election results. They have devoted the last three years to destroying Trump by any possible means. We now see them acting out the political play of an impeachment the Democrats have been planning since election day. Hatred overpowers reason.

The dangerous part is the precedent this sets. In future, whenever the House and the presidency are held by different parties, I expect the president will be impeached, and regardless of the alleged offenses, the Senate will acquit. In this atmosphere you will never get 67 votes in the Senate for anything.

Oath should mean something

About 60 years ago I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic. Just as every person serving their country does, whether like me in joining the Army or becoming president, it’s the oath written into the Constitution. It isn’t an oath to one man.

So never in my lifetime did I believe I would hear a U.S. senator state that his loyalty was not to the oath he took when entering office, but to a man, and that regardless of any evidence he would not vote to convict the president in this impeachment trial coming up.

Does the Constitution no longer stand for anything? Are we to have a government with one-man rule? Do we no longer have three separate but equal branches of government? Are our elections no longer free from foreign influence, as the founders of this nation wanted?

This isn’t about hatred of Trump, but about defending the Constitution, and that should be the duty of every American, especially those we have elected, including the president.

Invest in youth

Quality education for our younger generation is one of the most important issues that face us today. Being 39th in the U.S., when it comes to per-student funding, is not acceptable. California is ahead of other states in many areas; our economy is one of the highest, and we are ahead in implementing rules to help curb environmental change. Everyone’s future depends on our younger generation, so we must invest in their future. .

To build a strong and robust educational system, we need more funds that come from corporations paying their fair share. For too long, the burden has been placed on the middle class and working people.

This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Letters to the editor | Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019: Christmas, kindness, ammo, Trump and impeachment."