We're better than this
I am amazed at the number of people in the state of Arkansas, including state officials, who have or will vote for Donald J. Trump. I am very hopeful that the majority of the voting public will reject this candidate as they should have long before the primaries were over. I just have to have faith in our collective intelligence and inherent goodness. However, the thought of even the possibility of Trump becoming our president is alarming. Should that happen the results would be disastrous:
No presidential candidate would ever release his/her tax returns again. The American public would have shown that they are okay with not knowing if their president has paid taxes, made charitable contributions or done business with our enemies. Our president can demean all types and kinds of humanity, persons of color, Latinos, Muslims, LGBT, disabled, veterans, women--the list is endless.
Our president can marry and divorce and procreate with as many women as he wishes while professing to support and adhere to strong family values. (As long as the president is not a woman. No way would we elect a woman married three times over and producing children with all three partners.) Our president can denigrate women and put them in their place. Disrespect and paw them regardless of their wishes. Our president can defy and demonize our judicial system, the rule of law and the judicial process necessary to keep the USA the land of the free. Regardless of the ability and knowledge of the candidate, the president must be male.
America, we are better than this.
JAN SHACKELFORD
Springdale
How America got here
The United States of America should not exist. Against insurmountable odds, against every opponent who said they were out of their minds, a band of volunteer soldiers defeated the world's most elite fighting force. And somehow, they won. These fledgling Americans decided that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were worth laying their lives on the line. They decided the radical notion that all men are created equal was worth paying the ultimate price.
We didn't get everything quite right on the first try. Equality didn't include African Americans or women. Liberty wasn't for the people we held as property. For the past 240 years we've been working toward correcting those first mistakes and oh, how far we've come.
This week we have a choice, America. Will we continue that steady progress toward the great nation we know this land can be? Will we keep working to burn out all traces of hate, injustice, oppression, and yes, tyranny? Will we protect hope, peace, love and kindness so that our children grow up in a better and safer world? Or will we choose to be driven by fear, hate, and utter disregard for the values for which our forebears died?
To me, the choice is clear. Let us not throw away all the progress we've made these many years with trivial excuses that history won't even remember. Our ancestors fought and died and killed for the right we have to shape the course of our own history. Don't be on the wrong side of this moment.
Vote. Vote for love. Vote for kindness. Vote for progress, however slow. Vote for the hope that one day we can be the nation we've always dreamed we could be. Where all are created equal. Where all have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Vote for Hillary.
L.M. PETERSON
Little Rock
Could be another one
Jan. 20, 2017--The end of an error. I can only hope and pray that it won't be the beginning of another one.
MICHAEL BERGER
Benton
Power and Supremes
In reality, the election is not so much about electing the president for the next four years but deciding the political direction of the future Supreme Court. Is this important? When I was in knickers 70 years ago, it was made clear to us in the classroom that there were three branches of government--the executive, legislative and judicial. Today the idea of three branches has been superseded. We now are left with the executive and a conjoined twin, the legislative/judicial. That, along with frequent legislative incursions via executive order, results in no clear distinction regarding the making of law.
The Constitution in the eyes of the Supreme Court has morphed into being whatever nine justices proclaim it to be, that it is a "living document," a forever malleable zeitgeist being subject to the whim of the majority justices. This evolutionary turn of events allows a sort of Maginot Line end run around the legislative, permitting sweeping interpretations of the law, paralleling the majority justices' political views.
Considering judicial review, Thomas Jefferson warned that it would lead to a form of despotism. It is notable that nowhere in the Constitution is there a provision for judicial review--the court itself assumed this power by inference in 1803. That said, it is what it is and the die is cast, but recent history reinforces the importance of this election due to the certainty of vacancies during the next term(s)--so "pick your poison," not for the next four years, but for the next 35 or 40 years. Impotent to change after the fact, we shall have no choice but to live with the aftermath.
JAMES H. BARRÉ
Little Rock
Every voter will win
In my scenario, if you vote you win. If Hillary wins, Republicans can relax and rejoice. The Republican assertion is that Hillary didn't accomplish anything in 30 years of public service, so what can she accomplish in four years? A pure Republican might say, but what about the Supreme Court appointments?
Hillary will appoint liberal judges. However, if I recall, the Republicans appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who cast the deciding vote for Obamacare. Can a Hillary-appointed judge do more harm than conservative Roberts?
Republicans can also rejoice in the fact that the 2020 election is only four years away. It's a slam-dunk that Republicans will win in 2020. Wonder Woman herself couldn't deliver on all those campaign promises. Thus Republicans can go into 2020 with a boastful "I told you so" platform.
If Trump wins, what do Democrats get? Democrats can rejoice in the fact that self-righteous Republicans can no longer claim the high ground on morality and family values. If Trump is elected, it levels the playing field on morality and family values. A win for the Democrats. The question is often raised about trustworthiness of the candidates. The reality here is that an honest politician is an oxymoron.
Who are the losers after the election? My opinion, it's the drug companies--the need for blood pressure medication will decline after the election.
If you vote, you win.
MORRIS POLSTON
Hot Springs Village
Editorial on 11/08/2016