Letters to the Editor

I was born and raised in El Paso and lived there for nearly 60 years. El Paso is a close-knit community predominantly of the Catholic faith. The nuclear family unit is strong in this highly Hispanic community. Other family members will pick up the slack where moms and dads were senselessly taken by a crazed gunman. One of those victims is the mother of one employee who used to work for me. So, an event nearly 800 miles away still strikes close to home.

El Pasoans are a proud people, they are good folks who have enabled the community to be one of the safest in the U.S. because of the family unit. The community is made up of a large number of immigrants who came to this nation legally; they rang the door bell first before entering this nation and becoming productive citizens. Immigration issues were the basis of the crazed shooter killing so many innocent people.

With this being said, if Congress had done its job of fixing immigration laws to stem the flow of huge amounts of illegal immigrants coming to this nation, we may not be mourning the loss of 22 El Pasoans now. Congress shares most of the blame for this problem since it has let these events fester and happen. Instead, a big part of Congress focuses on impeachment rather than doing its job by taking care of this nation’s business.

Now, Democrats politicize the event and immediately jump on the bandwagon preaching gun control, when guns are not the problem. Guns are only tools. A crazed individual who drove 10 hours to commit this horrible event would have stopped at nothing and found other means to wreak havoc even if he did not have access to a gun. His intent was to commit evil regardless of methodology. Does Timothy McVeigh sound familiar? He killed 168 innocent people without using an AK47 or AR15.

J. Armstrong

Tyler

INTERNAL STRIFE

The saddest thing about the current president’s administration is missed opportunity. What are the odds of serving as president? If you were elected, wouldn’t you want to help all the citizens you govern to live better and safer lives, live as an example of inclusivity for young people, rather than treating different cultures as though we are not all designed by God? We seem to forget that God is the creator of “red and yellow, black and white.” For the sake of our souls, and for humanity, shouldn’t we spend more time looking at life with an eternal perspective? When we exclude or bully people, we hit them in the part that hurts the most — their self-esteem and value as a human being.

The current president appears to believe that Americans are happy with him as long as the money is good for some, regardless of how internal strife is literally killing our country. His dollar-sign value system pits one group of people against the other. I honestly wonder how much longer we can function in this divisive atmosphere. If we make it out of this mess, I will never take democracy for granted again.

I appreciate this free press opportunity to voice my opinion. Thank you.

Carol Thompson

Tyler

TAX RATE

The smart thing to do is control spending.

Commissioner Terry Phillips is the only “businessman.” The rest of the commissioners are politicians.

Gene Bennett

Tyler

DONATE BLOOD

Tyler, the city of brotherly love, filling a need for those who need help the most. To quote my Lord (Matthew 25:40): “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

I have benefited from blood transfusions years ago and hope and pray Tylerites will see the need to donate life’s precious gift. My son is a bone marrow receiver who had an acute form of leukemia. The doctors at Baylor Hospital told him his transplant came from Europe. We both have been blessed.

Ann Mitchell

Tyler