The politics of cats and dogs
Recent TV commercials have lamented the participation rate of citizens in elections. The lesson I take from it is this: When a merchant is unable to sell his goods, he changes suppliers and offerings; he doesn’t just blame the buyers.
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Americans now know that neither Republicans nor Democrats actually listen to and act for the individual. They are both organizations and, in my opinion, only represent organizations. Why should we participate in an election process that doesn’t empower us?
I think the problem with America is structural, empowering organizations at the expense of individuals and individuality. The only cure is a Constitutional Convention to restructure the election process and the responsibilities of those we elect — in other words, an attempt to change what politicians of every ilk are selling.
We used to be like dogs, happily participating in spite of the lack of reward. Now we are like cats, sitting off to the side watching with little interest in the foolishness.
— Roger Van Zanen, Deltona
A twist on justice
So as the Sentinel wrote about the Hope Florida corruption case, “there was no indictment, the (grand jury) report concluded, because no witness admitted responsibility for the ‘misappropriation’ or claimed to know who ordered it” (Editorial: “Hope Florida scammers treat Floridians like fools,” Sept. 5).
So, next time I rob a bank, all I must do is not admit I did it or acknowledge who told me to rob the bank. And therefore, I can’t be charged. Am I getting that right?
— Wayne J. Smith, Orlando
Parents don’t always have all the answers
As a retired teacher with 37 years of service in Orange County, I’d like to educate the gentleman who wrote in a Sept. 4 letter that there’s no need for pre-K funding because it’s the parents’ job to prepare their kids for school. In a perfect world that may very well be true. In reality, there are many parents and guardians who are poor, working multiple jobs to make ends meet, often barely literate and sometimes less than proficient in English. How can their children hope to be at the same level of readiness as those of middle- and higher-class families who have the knowledge, time, energy and resources to prepare their kids for school? The answer is: Fully funded pre-K available to all.
— Anne Gardepe, Winter Park
Quality of life is about more than labels
In this political season, labels are thrown around to see what sticks: Capitalism, socialism, fascism, communism, authoritarianism.
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The main difference that I see between capitalism and socialism is that capitalism puts profit before people and socialism puts people before profit. We see in some yearly surveys that some of the happiest places on Earth are in socialist countries, not in communist Russia or capitalist America.
I am in my early 70s and am living on America’s version of socialism, Social Security. I paid into the system that now pays me back. Nothing about socialism is free, it is based on shared values that we agree upon and each pay for.
It is about quality of life. We have to agree on minimum standards in such as guaranteed education through college or trade school, universal healthcare, daycare, mental health or people with disabilities. I think we should expand ways to contribute, such as volunteering, community service, internships or military service.
Free enterprise is the engine that makes the American Dream achievable for many. I view capitalism as free enterprise on steroids. When capitalism becomes accumulated wealth and this wealth allows special interests to buy politicians and affect the laws that govern all people, that is wrong, that is not We the People.
Capitalism works well with democracy, but also with communism as in China. In the U.S., wealth may be able to guarantee freedom, but you and I require good governance and democracy to guarantee ours.
— Glen Kendrick, Orlando
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