Take off the narrow blinders and see the diversity of the world
I was recently in the hospital for seven days for treatment of a serious infection. Many of the people who took care of me and helped me get my health back are immigrants — doctors, nursing staff, the woman who drew my blood every morning, the woman who cleaned my hospital room, the people who brought me my meals, to say nothing of those I never met who cooked my meals, and the many technicians who administered, processed, analyzed, and reported results of my numerous tests.
The day after the election (Wednesday) I woke up early and checked my cell phone to learn the outcome of the presidential election. I wept in grief and embarrassment to learn that half of my fellow citizens had voted for a man whose campaign was based on hatred and who spewed cruel, vile, ugly and violent rhetoric targeting immigrants. I wept in sorrow to realize that half of my fellow citizens seem to be wearing blinders and cannot see the beauty and value of the gifts that immigrants bring to enrich our communities and contribute to a lively economy.
Let each of us take off our narrow blinders and look around at our beautiful and diverse world, with an open heart to those who are “not like us.” Let us teach our children and grandchildren to appreciate the diversity in their classrooms, on their playgrounds, and in our communities. As the Rogers and Hammerstein song in their 1949 Broadway musical, South Pacific, says, “You’ve got to be carefully taught to hate and fear.” Children are not born hating anyone.
Ann Stromquist
Iowa City
Post-election priorities
Very little attention was paid to climate change during this election despite the fact that climate change related disasters threatened to disrupt voting in several areas of the country. This is not a time to ignore climate change or backtrack on legislative progress. We should thank Rep. Marionette Miller-Meeks for being the chair of the conservative climate caucus. It will be important for this group to take definitive steps to solve the climate crisis while conservatives control our government. We can all see the increase in heat waves, droughts, floods, fires and hurricanes in the last 20 years. There is no time to waste.Sincerely,James McCoyIowa City
It’s time to focus on climate change
I voted and climate change was my top priority. Back-to-back hurricanes and other weird and dangerous weather will just keep coming. I want Senator Joni Ernst, Senator Chuck Grassley, and Rep. Miller-Meeks to do as much as they can to protect our communities and our way of lifeSincerely,Eric JohnsonOxford
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Letters: Take off the narrow blinders and see the world’s diversity
