Helping each other in our time of need
The upcoming check from the government will help so many, and I am sure it will be welcomed. I, however, do not need this check. I would suggest that those of us who are fortunate enough to not need this money quickly donate it to those in need. I personally will be sending mine to the program that is feeding the children who depend on the school lunch and breakfast program. In this serious time, all of us need to think of others. Let¶¶Ņõap pull together and make a difference.
Lynn Riley, Westminster
I fixed my husbandās coffee today, doing my best to contain my fear. Heās a doctor at the Coalition for the Homeless and, without hesitation, heās on his way to work. Heās been a doctor for 40 years, taking care of others. He shrugs his shoulders and says simply, āIt¶¶Ņõap my duty.ā Iām scared for him. And so very proud.
Thanks to all you health care workers who continue to show up in this tumultuous time. I know Iām not alone in my sincere appreciation for your service and dedication.
Mary Kay Christian, Denver
Our nation has a long history of Minutemen — men and women who have stood fearless in front of impending danger on behalf of their neighbors. People such as Paul Revere and the fighters of our Revolution, or women, such as Harriet Tubman, who risked life and limb to free her people; the list continues through time. On 9/11, our emergency workers stood in the gap to rescue those in need with great courage and willing sacrifice.
Today, in the face of a different kind of threat, a new group of people has risen to the occasion. At their own peril, they work for us, their neighbors, to meet their needs and care for their fears. Many of them are even considered to be in the higher risk bracket to contract this disease, yet they show up.
Who are these unsung heroes of today? They are the cashiers at your local grocery stores. Throughout this time, when the common person has shown fear and self-concern, these women and men have been there to serve and care. They have calmed fears and sought to make life a little bit better.
Donāt think that they havenāt read the news and felt the fears of a disease that could strike them.
Unlikely heroes they are! Let¶¶Ņõap respect them, honor them and treat them with the dignity they deserve. And pray that they will be preserved throughout the coming days.
Mark Andre, Falcon
During the last few days, my core belief in the power of education has only deepened. My fellow staff members have coordinated a GoFundMe page to help support students for the coming weeks who donāt have access to meals, the internet and other services that many of us take for granted. Our principal has been steadfast in telling us that while we are not physically in school, we are still to be working and perhaps more now than ever.
We are having daily virtual staff meetings, designing our own online curriculums, reaching out to students who are both struggling and flourishing and trying to create normalcy during a very abnormal time. We are moving forward and engaging our students using new mediums in the hopes that in this time of uncertainty, the students know that they can count on their school and its community of teachers.
I have been touched by students who have reached out seeking ways to keep learning, saying they will miss the classroom. I was touched when my 11-year-old burst into tears and said, āI just want to go to school.ā I have been touched when my government students were disappointed that an annual day of learning called Doing Democracy Day was canceled. All of these elements woven together serve as a reminder to me that education and schools do matter. They are, in fact, the cornerstone of society.
Justelle Grandsaert, Boulder
Are we making the right decision concerning virus?
Everyone who ever told you they put āsafety firstā lied. Safety is always, at best, a secondary concern. Politicians generally put their own re-election first, but dead constituents donāt vote, so they enact legislation to keep the public as safe as it demands. Companies generally put profit first, but killing customers is bad for business, so they make their operations as safe as their customers demand. I donāt fault them; it¶¶Ņõap how we hold them accountable.
Each of us decide to drive, fly and generally live life (or not) every day. In doing so, we, individually — and as a society ā assign value to each otherās lives. As a nation, weāve decided that the approximately 36,000 people who died in car crashes in 2018 and the 12,000 to 61,000 people who die from influenza every year are a fair price to pay so that the rest of us could drive 65 mph and live normal lives. To truly put safety first, we would all live in bunkers, yet somehow stay physically, mentally and spiritually healthy; an impossible task, but one we are nonetheless attempting.
While COVID-19 harms the most vulnerable of us physically, the imposed isolation harms the most vulnerable of us economically.
Reasonable precautions must be taken, but let us remind ourselves and our policymakers to pause and weigh all the consequences. As the headlines drive us to higher heights of hysteria, let us all remember to live a life worth living first and āsafety second!ā
Daniel Guerrant, Littleton
Could it be that weāll all look back on this as the greatest overreaction to a ācrisisā in the history of our nation (and world)?
I donāt know, but it sure feels like it from a practical basis. The economy is in cinders; unemployment is going very high; people are buying guns and ammo like crazy; hoarding is rampant; and on and on. Are the benefits of shutting down society worth the cost?
I donāt know, but weāll see in the weeks ahead.
Dick Plastino, Lakewood
The right to identify as a Colorado native
Re: āPeel that ānativeā bumper sticker off your truck,ā March 15 commentary
This is to let Mimi Madrid know her commentary protesting ānativeā bumper stickers is a gross and intolerant affront to my right to free speech.
I am as native as any so-called āindigenousā person ever born in this state. After all, we are all intruders, given that mankind had its origins in Africa (if we can believe the anthropologists).
Diversity is a word thrown around too loosely in the media, because the term is always selectively used to suit a personal worldview. Obviously, some donāt believe I have a right to a diverse view on my pickup bumper.
This is unfortunate, because my bumper sticker is not displayed as a challenge to anyone.
It is a deep and sorrowful emblem decrying the ruination of the state into which I was born 82 years ago as a third-generation son.
Colorado means āredā in Spanish, and at one time we were a glorious red.
Then began the influx of people from states with unhealthy, even damaging, political systems in which industry could not thrive. They escaped only to recreate those same conditions in their new home.
Colorado has gone from glorious red to a turgid purple. Crime, pollution, rising prices of everything, crowding and manic driving habits are just a sampling of the negative fruit attending this unhappy influx.
Iāll soon be joining the growing exodus of native children to other regions managing to contain the madness in which Colorado is now saturated.
Mimi wonāt have to tolerate the sight of my bumper sticker much longer.
Ron Mallett, Milliken
We need better treatment of all corporate livestock
Re: āLet¶¶Ņõap get our poultry out of those cruel cages,ā March 15 commentary
Not only do we need to get the hens who lay our eggs out of cruel cages, but we need to do a major overhaul to our corporate meat industry that insists on treating all species of animals in an unnatural and inhumane fashion by confining them, fattening them more quickly than is healthy, and keeping them in unsanitary conditions.
This is not good stewardship. It is making the animals and the humans who eat their product unnecessarily sick in the name of greed.
Food should be about nutrition and quality, not quantity and profit.
Nancy Ford, Arvada
Truth of the matter in Haiti? It¶¶Ņõap a population problem
Re: āEyes on Haiti,ā March 15 commentary
The famous Jack Nicholson line from āA Few Good Menā — āYou canāt handle the truthā ā applies to this commentary.
The sad truth is that Haiti is overpopulated without a birth control program to contain it; it has an under-educated population with no hope of improvement to reduce poverty. There are not enough natural resources for the population to survive.
The Catholic Church — looked up to by most of the population ā is doing nothing to reduce the explosive population growth. And donāt blame Haitiās problems on weather disasters; that is the easy cop-out, but not the source of the problem.
The sad truth is that āhelping handsā for Haiti — although helping some ā will do nothing to change the outcome of the country until its fundamental overpopulation is addressed.
Curt Anderson, Broomfield
Scorned for being a Republican
Many public school teachers feel their voices are oppressed and therefore attend rallies, like the recently canceled Educator Day of Action, to voice their opinions. Their liberal opinions are widely accepted and celebrated in the public school system.
As a proud public school teacher and proud Republican, I would experience a very different reaction if I publicly voiced my conservative views in the same way my peers do. I, unfortunately, do not have the same permission to make my voice heard. My voice is oppressed, and sadly, I know that if I were to speak up, I would likely lose friends at work. I sit in meetings where I hear phrases like āidiot Trumpā and āstupid Republicansā thrown around under the assumption that everyone holds similar views.
A core value of so many of my liberal colleagues is to accept all people, regardless of their label. They denounce the judgment of others on the basis of race, sexual orientation, etc. Isnāt it ironic that these peers of mine who condemn this type of bigotry would judge me if they knew I bore the label āRepublicanā? It¶¶Ņõap just a label. Just like āgay,ā āLatinaā and āgender-fluidā are just labels. The label does not change the person underneath. It does not change someoneās heart, character or integrity. A friendship dissolved over a simple label — a label that makes me different, a label they cannot accept ā isnāt that the very hatred liberals stand against?
Hypocrisy at its finest.
Molly Valenta, Parker
Adding people to Denver households
Re: āRethink that radical plan for multiple adults in homes,ā March 15 commentary
It is obvious that Vincent Carroll is another middle-class homeowner who thinks that they should control the public streets in their neighborhoods.
If all these NIMBYs continue to get their way politically, we will never get a handle on solving homelessness, affordable housing and caring for our mentally ill.
Jim Hannifin, Denver
Thank you, Vincent Carroll, for exposing the perils of Denverās proposed amendments to the zoning code.
If passed, the amendments would radically eliminate the well-established protections of Denverās current code by allowing unfettered group homes.
I have lived in a small, quiet neighborhood of single-family homes in east Denver for 15 years. Denverās proposal would allow me to convert my 3,000-square-foot home to accommodate 15 residents and all their minor children.
These residents could be anyone, from college students to the homeless. They can all bring their cars, motorcycles, etc., without any consideration of available parking on my street.
There would be no requirement that my wife and I even continue to live in my converted home.
According to the city, inevitable noise or code violations such as excess trash could be simply handled by calling 311.
Worse yet, all of my neighbors would also be able to convert their homes — or build new ones ā to accommodate group living, potentially resulting in several large group homes in a single block.
Landlords can cash in by renting out rooms in what would essentially become residential boarding houses.
So much for my nice quiet neighborhood. I — and many other homeowners ā cherish the established character of our neighborhoods, protected in large part by zoning that assures that reasonable density limits will be preserved.
Denverās proposed group living rules are an outrageous assault on these protections. Only the Denver City Council can stop this disaster. Call or write your council member now.
Rod Smith, Denver
A bailout for airlines?
Re: āU.S. airlines seek $50 billion in aid,ā March 17 news story
What is this with bailing out the airline industry? Did they share their profits during their heyday? Remember when there was a problem bailing out the banks a few years ago? I believe they all paid back the loans. We need to protect our burgeoning federal debt.
Donna Lucero, Lakewood
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