Letters: Right and left share blame, wishes for the year and more | Jan. 9

Right and left due to share blame

Several people have accused the left, elitism and socialism of degrading our country’s moral compass. But blame can be shared by the right, and their support for a corrupt administration and its damaging policies. Socialism isn’t inherently immoral. (Acts 2:44). And authoritarian regimes can be either communist or fascist. The shared fault of both is human arrogance.

In “Between Two Ages,” Van Wishard describes our dilemma well - without humbly acknowledging something greater than ourselves, we are left with two positions, either we “reject God” and allow anything; or we “become God” and believe that our own position is the only true one. Neither is acceptable.

Using both mind and heart provides us a third option. We are gifted with the ability to think and reason via science, and we should accept this gift to wisely steward this 4-billion-year-old planet. We have also been given a heart and asked to do a very difficult thing, to love our neighbors as ourselves. This obligates a social contract where we all support shared needs and do not impose our belief system on others. Facts are facts, and there is real truth, just not anyone’s personal version of it.

A reader’s wishes for the year ahead

In addition to the Tri-City Herald’s wish list for 2020, I would like to add these: our local state elected representation work on slowing down the traffic on Highway 395, starting at Ridgeline. Everyday I see 70,000 to 80,000 trucks blowing through red lights. Next accident? All law entities, city, county and state increase enforcement activities on vehicles not displaying a front license plate, running red lights, use of cell phones while driving and speeding. More user/friendly stop lights, why do we need to wait for a light to cycle based on a clock when any number of vehicles is waiting for green when no traffic is approaching. This is particularly occurring on Kennewick’s Columbia Center Boulevard, 10th Avenue and any street that crosses 395.

Please update traffic control, and I believe the red-light running would decrease. Also, adding cameras to select locations would be a positive. For once, let’s see all cities work in unison for the amenities that the area deserves. Work on best location as well as all support financially. In other words, stop trying to compete with each other and team, team, team. Finally, teachers please settle your contracts, etc., without impacting innocent students and parents.

Trump bungles foreign policy

Any previous Democratic or Republican president would have aggressively supported Ukraine in its patriotic war against Russian incursion onto its territory. President Zelensky of Ukraine is walking into negotiations with Russia with a weakened hand. Our current president treated him like the president of a banana republic. His offense of using military aid as leverage may not be impeachable; but it was enough to undermine Putin’s perception of any strong U.S. support for Ukraine.

That self-centered gaffe, along with the betrayal of the Kurds, was enough to convince me that we’d be better off with any Democratic or Republican with a better grasp of foreign policy!

This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Letters: Right and left share blame, wishes for the year and more | Jan. 9."