Letters to editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

There is no ‘I’ in team but there is in ‘me-ism’

When did the Me-ism’s overtake Americanism? Today, LBGTQ etc., Me Too, Black Lives Matter, anti-semitism, nazi-ism, communism, Islamism, and many other ism’s seem to consider themselves more important than our republic of America.

No one seems to care about the freedoms our Constitution has given us by our forefathers who fought, suffered, and even died to give us the freedoms that NO other nation on this earth has had or will have.

How about remembering what it was like in the countries you or your forefathers and mothers came from and how those countries are treating their citizens even now. How many of you would like to return there and live as a citizen?

It is about time everyone, I mean everyone, start learning about U.S. history and the Constitution so you know why you have the most freedom of any country in this world.

First the people need to be informed prior to electing their local, county, state and mostly their Washington, D.C. representatives. Be sure they are people who understand and swear to uphold the Constitution or resign. Let’s keep America a beacon for all, especially our citizens.

Henry Hurlbut

Has human nature become our nation’s downfall?

Every thief in history has some illusion of Robin Hood to justify taking property from others. Governments have done it by making official “laws” or rules and enforced by armed power if necessary.

We all should realize, to live in a reasonably safe society we need some form of government and it needs funding.

The founders tried their human best to form the government with hopefully barriers that retrain the thing that has historically, over time, been the downfall of most societies, human nature. So many times, even with the best intentions, have unintended consequences.

In addition, the larger the “organization” the greater the opportunities to exploit such failings of human nature, such as abuse, corruption and incompetence and the U.S. federal government is the largest organization in the world, financially speaking.

The enumerated powers and barriers that were originally put on the “rule makers, the rule enforcers, and to some extent, the rule interpreters”, have been subjected to being chipped away for many years.

Much fault lies in ourselves as well as those of past generations.

Ben Franklin said, “When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”

I also harken back to James Madison’s sentiments of if we were angels we would have no need for government, or if we were governed by angels there would be no need for restraints upon them, but to date we have not found these “better angels.”

Also keeping Washington’s sentiments regarding government: Government is not reason, government is not eloquence. It is force.

And like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.

Has Professor Epstein ever wondered why the “rich” of the past and the present resist the government taking their money?

Yet these same people in many cases are willing to spend millions for charitable causes?

The answer is simple: Like most people, they believe they can spend their money more efficiently than others, especially those who have not toiled for it.

I do realize that we, as a nation, have grown a multitude of dependency programs to the extent that chaos and suffering would occur if these programs would end or be substantially altered, but I also realize if you took every dollar from every billionaire in the country, it wouldn’t come close to paying the national debt and obligations.

As more time passes and these realities are ignored, the options to put reasonable solutions in place will also diminish, leaving future generations compromised.

Most world religions teach individual salvation and charity, not forced collection.

To many it has been sold as an easy solution to “covet thy neighbor’s goods but historically this has always been a false narrative.

David Jaronik