McCarthy’s ouster brings introspection

Whatever faults ex-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy may have, he, nevertheless, deserves credit for averting a government shutdown. Unlike those who were eager to shut down the government if they didn’t get their own way, McCarthy put the welfare of the nation above partisanship. One wonders who really deserves to be removed from office.

As suggested by letter-writer Debra Lupton, House and Senate members should be severely penalized for any government shutdown (“Penalize lawmakers for shutdown,” Letters to the Editor, Oct. 4). At the very least, members of Congress should not receive their salary, just like our brave men and women in the military, during a government shutdown.

I do hope that funding for Ukraine would be resumed. We musn’t ignore history. In 1938, British, French, Italian and German leaders tried to appease Hitler by passing the Munich Agreement allowing him to annex Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland unopposed. No doubt, as a result, Hitler was emboldened to proceed with his megalomaniac ambition of Aryan world conquest, causing the horrors and devastation of World War II, including the mass murder of six million Jews and three or more millions of other non-Jews.

Let us learn from history. We must oppose megalomaniacal dictators. We must assist Ukraine as it tries to thwart the ambitions of Vladimir Putin.

And we must protect our own democracy by electing government officials who truly care for our country and our Constitution, putting the welfare of our nation above partisanship or their own agendas.

Susan Talana Harris, Orlando