Celebrating local heroes
Editor: Reese Elementary School recently celebrated Red Ribbon Week at the end of October and our theme was “Real Heroes Don’t Do Drugs.”
We invited several real heroes from our community to come and speak to our classes about their jobs and how they serve our community. We wanted to thank Mike Bennett from the American Legion; Ryan Walker and his team from Lodi Fire Department Station 1; the Lodi Police K-9 unit; our EMT friends from AMR; and 1st Sgt. Maldonado, Staff Sgt. Levens, and Capt. Bonglo from the U.S. Army.
All of these people are wonderful examples of real heroes in our community and great role models for our
students. 3RD GRADE TEACHERS Reese School Take a look at your own party
Editor: In response to Mr. Mushtaq Tahirkheli’s letter (Nov. 10) that “Democrats have to be smart and honest and wise to clean up the mess and hate created by the Republican Party ...”
I cannot let that phrase go unchallenged.
He needs to take a closer look at his own party and ask himself who it is that is “creating hate." We do not see Republicans harassing people in restaurants, staging violent protests involving destruction of public and private property, nor do they terrorize those who disagree with them by mobbing them and their families on the porch of their own homes. We now have a new governor, whose main platform was “resist” (Trump). These are actions of hate.
He says further on, “I request to my Americans to love each other.”
As a Republican I have been called a Nazi, a fascist, a racist and a homophobe by members of the Democrat Party. I am none of these things. These vicious names are words of hate. How would you feel, Mr. Tahirkheli, if you were called ugly names you did not deserve? Is this hate speech designed to make us love each other?
I certainly do agree with the first part of his statement: “Democrats have to be smart and honest and wise ...”
Yet I do not see any smartness, honesty, or wisdom in calling those who disagree with them names, harassing them in public places, terrorizing them at their homes, nor vandalization of property. It is neither smart nor wise to bully those you disagree with. It just promotes divisiveness.
There was no “resist” movement when Obama was president, although Republicans disagreed with his policies. (When we dared to do so openly, we were labeled racists.)
I hope Mr. Tahirkheli and his party can find a way to behave “smartly, honestly, and wisely” as he says. This country will be much better off when they are able to do this. SHARON KIRKPATRICK
Lodi
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