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Dialogue, honest debate needed in US

DEAR EDITOR:

This letter is in response to the June 5 letter titled “Republican solutions to today’s issues.”

The letter is a perfect example of what’s wrong with this country. The letter, full of hate and unsubstantiated opinions, leaves no room for dialogue or honest debate.

I am a Republican, but I believe none of the things this writer ascribes to Republicans. Republicans don’t ban books or encourage citizens to eliminate one another. What I do believe is that this country is in sad shape and needs all of us working together to find a path forward. We need to talk to, and more important, listen to, each other.

I am not writing in the hope that the writer will have an “aha” moment and revise her opinions; and I don’t really care. Such a closed mind is a lost cause. I am writing to those who may have read her letter and bought into some of it.

She calls them Republican solutions, which of course they aren’t. But what are the solutions? Most of her statements are too ridiculous to even discuss, but let’s look at a couple examples. In her opening paragraph about violence, the position she attributes to Republicans is preposterous. Like all these issues, there are many causes and not one magic quick fix. But lower bail and shorter sentences, as we have seen in the last couple years exclusively in Democratic-controlled cities, does not seem to be the answer. She says the Republican response to COVID-19 was to do nothing and hope it would go away. The most effective response to COVID has been the vaccine, which was developed under the previous administration — in record time.

Take a breath and look around for a minute. Is the country in better shape now than two or three years ago? We are headed for total disaster if we keep on with the same policies. In one of Tim Ryan’s latest ads, he says, “My party got it wrong.” I admire him for that.

Many, if not most, Republicans get it wrong on climate. Republicans don’t have all the answers. Nor do Democrats. Nor do independents. That is why dialogue and honest debate is important. Not hate and talking past each other.

ROBERT LOWE

Girard

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