Letters to the editor
Cherish the gift of voting
Our democracy is rooted in the premise that every vote counts – that the will of the people can be manifested through our free and fair elections. Any actions that impede American citizens’ right to vote or ability to express their political opinions through the vote risks voter disenfranchisement and apathy.
We live in a time where roughly half of eligible adults do not choose to vote. While this is surely for a variety of reasons, many may believe their vote isn’t of value or that their voice does not matter. Given this reality, protecting the sanctity of our elections is as important as it’s ever been in the history of this great nation.
I’ve voted in every major election since I became eligible to vote in 1996 and have treated this right as a sacred obligation. I’ve brought my children to the polls since they could walk to reinforce the importance of this responsibility. Because I know billions of people around the world – and billions more throughout history – have not enjoyed this right and privilege.
But Tuesday, my vote – along with a dozen or more citizens in Chartiers Township – was not counted due to voting machine issues and a misunderstanding of voting rules at my local voting location.
Knowing that our vote counts – and is counted – should never be in question.
I applaud officials at the party level for reaching out to me and others impacted to try to recast ballots, but it’s clear we need to be doing more to protect our vote and ensure every vote that’s cast is counted. I’m taking this experience as a message that I can be doing more to help aid our democracy and I encourage others to become more involved in our local elections as well.
Our right to vote should never be in question, and it should never be taken for granted. Our democracy and the gifts that it has given every American needs to be nurtured and cherished for our country to remain the envy of the world.
Brendan Mangus
Chartiers Township
Onward and upward
Accountability will finally be brought to the Trump administration with the Democratic Party taking over both houses of Congress in spectacular fashion. It is unfortunate that my Republican congressman kept his seat. However, his votes in favor of President Trump’s blatant corruption, his dereliction of duty while allowing funding for an illegal war, and his continued support to cover up for the Epstein class will no longer matter. He will be swept into the dust bin of history as just another Republican lawmaker on the wrong side of history.
Now, onward and upward.
Sharon Laffey
Buffalo Township
A new day in America
It is tragic that the 14th Congressional District provided a large margin of victory for our absentee U.S. representative, Republican Guy Reschenthaler, but in many respects, he was defeated. He will soon be a member of the minority party.
Reschenthaler has been a member of a supine Republican Congress which has given a corrupt and vengeful president carte blanche to inflict pain on our people and upon hundreds of millions of people throughout the world: no more!
The stunning and thrilling Democratic wave has ended Republican control of the House and the Senate. No longer will cartoon characters be approved to serve in critical positions in the U.S. government. If the president nominates sycophant right-wing judges or Supreme Court Justices, they will not be voted out of the Senate.
Notwithstanding the regrettable return of Guy Reschenthaler to the U.S. House, it is a glorious morning, a new day in America!
Oren Spiegler
Peters Township
Deep dive into ‘deep state’
After reading Gary Stout’s commentary on “Why we need the ‘deep state,'” I have concluded that the title would have more aptly been titled “Why we need cronyism.” His description of the Trump presidency reducing the bureaucratic workforce and installing MAGA-leaning individuals is typical of any president wishing to surround himself with “yes men.” Right or wrong is not my debate today.
In contrast, the “deep state” was a covert network that took place beginning in the Eisenhower Administration. In the 1950s, John Henry Dulles, as Secretary of State, and his brother, Allen Dulles, as CIA Director, made national security decisions using diplomacy and clandestine operations. They used political intervention and coups against foreign governments that threatened U.S. political and economic interests. They spearheaded regime changes and military involvement in countries like Iran, Guatemala, the Congo, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cuba. Their overlapping tenure occurred from 1953 until 1959, shaping modern American policy, often leading to their own financial gains.
Some debate the “deep state” still exists in our government, making behind-the-scenes, world-changing events with no accountability.
Glenn W. Vogel
North Franklin Township
Donate to your VFD
A recent fire on Michigan Avenue involved the rescue of a resident in his home. Several fire departments worked together to quickly contain the fire and completed the rescue within three to five minutes of arrival. One of these departments was the Canton Township Volunteer Fire Company.
This organization recently sent out letters soliciting funds from the residents of Canton Township. The funds are for equipment, fuel, training, and the protective clothing each member is required to wear.
Every resident who is protected by a volunteer organization should respond generously.
Don Shaw
Canton Township
Her ballot
People often ask me who I voted for. I seldom tell them what is truly in my heart. The truth is, I vote for Her. For the earth beneath our feet, for the quiet genius of the natural world, for its beauty, its intricate balance, and for the children who will inherit all that we leave behind.
She was not on the ballot. So I looked for Her in the words, the values, and the intentions of those who were. I searched for some sign of kinship with the living earth, some understanding that we are not separate from nature, but wholly dependent upon it. Sadly, here in my county, the choices were few. There was one candidate I personally know whose affection for the natural world is genuine and deeply felt. Another seemed to recognize its importance through an experience that brought its value into focus. Both, in their own ways, offered something to consider.
And yet, what is a future without clean water, living soil, breathable air, good food, and a place to call home? A child’s inheritance is not measured only in what we build or accumulate, but in the world still waiting outside the door: the rivers running clear, the fields yielding their harvest, the pollinators visiting another season.
These are not small things. They are the very substance of life. And perhaps this is what it means to vote for Her: to remember what cannot cast a ballot, what cannot speak in a meeting or plead its own cause, yet gives us everything. Someone must speak for the earth, not as its owner, but as one of its grateful inhabitants.
Lisa Scherer
Marianna