The Sentinel-Record

Nation in ‘real danger’

- Mike Nunn Hot Springs

Dear editor:

When I was young, I read a lot of science fiction. I have always loved knowledge. One of our most brilliant writers, Isaac Asimov, once said: “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectu­alism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge’.”

We cannot rely on what we wish was fact, but what is fact. Beliefs are fine, but we need science and actual facts in order to move forward. Many people have based their lives on fantasy and mythology while ignoring science and facts. While it may be comforting to bask in the certainty of eternity, I prefer to be allowed to live a life enjoying the pursuit of knowledge. Every day that goes by that I do not learn something new is a wasted day. I can recall the days of my youth when the opportunit­ies were few. Now with the internet, all of my books, etc., I am still like a kid in the candy store.

There appear to be several reasons why the American electorate managed to elect one of the most incompeten­t persons to the highest office in the land. A rather strange combinatio­n of greed, religion and racism has produced a dedicated minority of citizens who have managed to manipulate the electoral process to give power to those who managed to elect Trump. They do not seem to care what he says, and they overlook his ignorance of basic facts and principles of law. He blames the constituti­onal checks and balances built in to U.S. governance. “It’s a very rough system,” he said. “It’s an archaic system … It’s really a bad thing for the country.”

If a Democratic president had said that, I believe that articles of impeachmen­t would have been drawn up faster than the Benghazi hearings.

It is clear that the Republican­s either do not listen, or worse, do not care about what Trump says.

I happen to support the Constituti­on. This nation is in real danger.

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