Children are traumatized when taken from parents

As a future pediatrician, I respond to the Associated Press article “Border official steps down as outrage grows over children” in the June 25 Dispatch.com. It seems that every day we learn of new monstrosities and inhumane living conditions for children detained at the border. As John Sanders steps down from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, I hope that the conditions for children at the border will change.

It has been shown time and time again that trauma and stress during childhood have lifelong impact on people’s health. All children, no matter where they were born, must have access to basic human needs: food, shelter, soap, clean water.

I hope that as our country moves forward, we can get new leadership in the immigration sector of our government so that we can see change for good for these children.

Megan Danzo, fourth-year medical student, Ohio State University, Columbus

Voters need to hear stance on climate change

The Democratic National Committee is voting in August on a proposal to host a climate change debate. Ohio DNC members should vote in favor.

Presidential candidates addressed the climate crisis for about 13 minutes over two nights during the first Democratic debate. This isn’t enough. We can already see the leading edge of the changes that are coming: I have spent the spring harvesting a bumper crop of weeds from the gardens I tend, while elsewhere in the Midwest farmers can’t plant their corn because their fields are underwater.

We deserve to hear detailed plans from all the candidates about how they will make the big investments we need to have a climate-stable economy and what they will do to keep anyone from being left behind during the transition. Samuel Kernan, Columbus

We break law when no one is watching

Once again we celebrated the Fourth of July and the freedoms this country affords us. How do many people do so? They shoot off firecrackers, which is against the law in Ohio.

Most people fancy themselves as being law-abiding, but most are far from it. On a daily basis we break every pedestrian and vehicular law imaginable. This list could go on and on.

We live in the greatest country in the world, but we are probably one of the least disciplined. Most people abide by laws when a police officer is present, but we should respect the law at all times.

Wayne Branfield, Columbus

Don't go overboard with president's speech

I respond to the Washington Post article "President praises America's heritage" in Friday's Dispatch. Praising Donald Trump for reading a speech written for him instead of railing for an hour about fake news, enemies of the people, Hillary Clinton and anyone else who fails to support him is accepting a very low bar for presidential behavior.

And what about those Revolutionary War-era airports?

Margo Bartlett, Delaware

President praises tyrants, big military displays

The Fourth of July is a day set aside to celebrate our independence from a tyrannical English government. However it is appalling that we find ourselves under the rule of a tyrant/president/ dictator: Donald Trump.

Tyrant? Yes. It is defined as one who rules in a cruel or unilateral manner. And there are many examples of this behavior. Trump ignores the mandates of Congress. He ridicules the the findings of The Department of Justice. He has changed the once-respected position of attorney general into that of a personal lawyer/defender.

The early settlers came to our shores in search of a better life, yet Trump imprisons Central American and Mexican immigrants who come legally to our southern border seeking a similar life. Daily we see pictures of caged immigrants and their children that remind us of pictures from Auschwitz, Birkenau and Dachau. Yet Trump does nothing to correct this tragic situation.

On the Fourth of July, he acted to praise and emulate the military displays of Russia and North Korea — two countries headed by tyrants whom Trump openly praises.

We are losing our democracy.

B.S. Pound Jr., Upper Arlington

Leaders have lost sight of nation's best qualities

It is hard to believe that most detainees had to live in squalid overcrowded collective dormitories that at times were so crowded that there was standing room only. Families were broken up and men, women and children were forced to live separately. Food was generally inadequate and its distribution was inequitable.

Lice were prevalent on many of the detainees. Most occupants had soiled clothing, no mattresses to sleep on and inadequate sanitary supplies were common throughout the facilities. One room was found to have two toilets and two sinks for more than

200 detainees in a room reportedly big enough for 50 or 60 people. Does this sound familiar? These were the conditions at the Nazi hybrid concentration camp and ghetto Theresienstadt my wife and I toured in the Czech Republic.

As Americans we should be incensed and ashamed these same conditions exist in the detention centers being operated by our government.

What has brought us to this point in history that we turn a blind eye to the quote on the base of the Statue of Liberty that greeted so many seeking a new life in America? “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

It is time for us to either demand more from those we elected to run our government or vote them out of office for failing to live up to what this country has for decades represented on the world’s stage.

Randil Hinderer, Delaware

Sunscreens generally safe; check their ingredients

It’s summertime and the living is easy — as long as you do not end up in the burn intensive care unit from sunburn. One young lady we treated in the emergency department found this out the hard way when a beach vacation turned into a painful hospital

stay complete with fluid replacement and surgery to remove dead skin. And she’s not alone. Studies have shown that 7 of 10 adolescents have reported a sunburn in the past year.

There has been a lot of unnecessary confusion on sunscreen in the past few weeks, specifically surrounding the ingredients. The Food and Drug Administration has called for further research around 12 ingredients in common sunscreens and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended against the use of sunscreens containing oxybenzone. These recommendations have parents wondering “should I even put sunscreen on my kids?”

There is little to no evidence in humans that the absorption of these chemicals through the skin is actually harmful to users. What we do know is that the sun can be incredibly dangerous if proper sun safety is not performed and can lead to burns, early aging and skin cancer.

The risks of sun exposure are high. So the answer is yes, parents should put sunscreen on their kids, be extra careful and look for the brands that do not contain oxybenzone.

Jaclyn Giafaglione, M.D., Columbus

Editorial on wealth tax was very informative

I so appreciate The Dispatch running the Washington Post editorial “Why a wealth tax won’t work” in Tuesday’s newspaper.

If we just use the laws we have, close the loopholes and prosecute the cheaters, the system should work.

The article made such good sense, better than I can. Thanks for printing it. Jerrie Cribb, Columbus