Find historic truths
I can’t remember the last time I read such a mean-spirited letter as the one recently submitted by J.C. Passmore (Tribune, Jan. 15). It had me wondering who stole his lunch money on the playground.
In the letter, he wrote, “Great historic truths have a way of hiding in plain sight.” Apparently not for him ... . But you can find the truth about Republicans, Democrats and their history at studentsofhistory.com. Look for “The Great Switch: How Republicans and Democrats Switched Ideologies.” In a nutshell:
The Democrats from the Civil War era, who Mr. Passmore blamed for many of our country’s ills such as slavery ..., originally embraced the Republican ideals of modern times. The Republicans of that era were considered very liberal. We now have two parties whose ideologies stand 180 degrees from where they stood centuries ago.
The notion that the Democratic Party was purposely given a deceptive name as the party of slavery is nonsense. And the statement that the Republicans Party was created to prevent slavery is equally as nonsensical. The Democrats were named back in 1792 when the Federalist Party used the name as an insult against the Jeffersonian Republicans, who they claimed were like the “radical democrats” of the French Revolution. For a time, the amused Republicans called themselves the Democratic-Republican Party.
So if Mr. Passmore truly wants the abolishment of the political party that fostered slavery, segregation, racism and hatred, then he picked the wrong party.
Better take a long look at the other one.
Patrice Yeatter
Kooskia
Fighting for freedom
Yeonmi Park’s harrowing book “In Order to Live” tells of defecting from North Korea, a totalitarian dictatorship, and coming to America.
Park also wrote bestselling “While Time Remains: A North Korean Defector’s Search for Freedom in America.” She “has a deep appreciation for (American) liberty and wants to remind us of the fragility of freedom, and what we must do to preserve it.”
Park never thought she’d be fighting for freedom of speech in America — was censored on YouTube, etc. ... . She was shocked by “the indoctrination taking place in American universities,” comparing it to “the propaganda taking place in North Korea.”
Another way we seem to have lost ground pertains to medical freedom and hearing more than one opinion from various highly qualified physicians, possibly diverting from a common narrative (as with COVID-19).
Hearing various medical opinions — not simply “trusting” one — could have significant impact.
Jennifer Vanderbes’ 2023 “groundbreaking” book “Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and its Hidden History,” (caused “severe malformations” in babies abroad in the 1950s-60s ...) is described as “shocking, extremely well-researched, and incredibly heartbreaking.” Vanderbes “exposes the deceptive practices of Big Pharma that continues to endanger lives today.” Or read “The True Story of Thalidomide in the U.S.” (usthalidomide.org/our-story-thalidomide-babies-us).
Vanderbes exposes the “sinister truth that had been buried for decades” as Americans were “deceived by the pharmaceutical firms, betrayed by (some) doctors, and ignored by (some in) the government.”
Free speech and liberty are imperative to retain.
Ronda Granlund
Clarkston
Christian nationalism
I read Richard Eggleston’s historical explanation of Christian nationalism (Tribune, Jan. 26), but I wondered if he ever defined what it is. Simply put, Christian nationalism is a form of religious nationalism that focuses on promoting the political views of its followers, in order to achieve prominence or dominance in political and social life.
While Eggleston does say the Puritans developed it, that is not far enough back. I think it goes back to Pope Nicholas V, who issued the papal bull Dum Diversas in 1452, which allowed white Europeans to subjugate the native peoples of the Americas, Africa and Asia in the interest of saving their souls.
From this has come all sorts of heresies of Christian nationalism: the superiority of the white race, rugged individualism, manifest destiny, the inferior status of women, bipolar gender identity, isolationism, protectionism, slavery, fascism and more.
Contrast those teachings to the doctrines taught in the Gospels: compassion, forgiveness, social justice and, yes, resurrection, with the final kinship of God established for all. In a word “mercy.”
Eggleston uses a lot of words to say nothing. There is a clear distinction between nationalism and the gospel. Myself, I favor mercy.
Wayne Beebe
Pullman
A number on workers
During his 1980 campaign, Ronald Reagan’s slogan was Make America Great Again. Within three years he began the income taxation of Social Security benefits and, with one signature, doubled the number of homeless combat veterans.
One hundred and thirty-eight indictments were filed against his administration officials. Yet the trickle-down theory overshadowed any positive accomplishments for which he may have been responsible. The corporate taxes that were utilized for maintenance of the interstate system were rescinded.
After 40 years of trickle-down, American worker productivity has increased 65% yet their buying power has been reduced by almost 18%. In effect, the workers are paying the taxes for the oligarchs like Elon Musk.
Each successive Republican administration has done a number on the workers by further diminishing their buying power. The Dick Cheney-George W. Bush fake war brutalized our economy and removed many of our rights via the Patriot Act.
The worst destruction of our economy was accomplished by the known liar when he added more than $9 trillion to the national debt. For those of you who voted for that evil man, I truly hope you get everything you deserve.
Douglas Thornton
Lewiston
Keep initiative process
Idaho has a long-standing tradition of voter initiatives. There is no more direct way for Idaho voters to have their voices heard and their desires fulfilled than through the voter initiative process. That process is currently at risk from three pieces of proposed legislation that could disempower voters and lead to the most restrictive initiative process in the country.
House Bill 2 raises the threshold for initiative passage from a simple majority to 60%.
House Bill 85 grants gubernatorial veto power to any initiative that doesn’t receive 66.7% of the vote.
Senate Joint Resolution 101 expands the petition signature distribution from 18 to all 35 districts, making it nearly impossible for any initiative to qualify for the ballot.
We Idahoans are fiercely independent and cherish our fundamental freedom of self-determination. Please join me in ensuring our voter initiative process remains intact by urging your representatives to vote “no” on these bills, which would undermine our freedom as Idaho citizens to determine our destiny.
Virginia Perez
Boise
