Letters to the Editor

Human nature has not changed, just circumstances

In today’s fast-paced world with instantaneous communications, with media and social networks, while other areas of our lives reduced, faded, and or completely disappeared, such as principle beliefs and religion, that had centuries of testing challenges that wasn’t always perfect in practice due almost exclusively to human failure, was found when adhered to provided maximum individual freedom as long as individual responsibility was also applied. Today many are relinquishing their responsibilities as well as their freedoms to those in power or seeking power professing they know or found a better way. There has been a long line of changes in developments that made human life easier but there has been one thing that has not changed in humans themselves, that is the variables in our natures and the shortcomings of it that we are constantly being tempted to submit to.

Anyone claiming they know or has found a better way to govern is lying to you and or themselves, even if the “packaging is new and bright” chances are if you dig enough, it’s been around before due to that unchanging constant of human nature.

Without question, emotion is not bad relating to some things, but can be terrible relating to other things, is certainly more powerful than reason and logic, this has been said through many past quotes, like David Gemmill: “There is a darkness in you, in all of us, a beast we best keep chained.”

Voltaire: “Those that can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities”; and “It is difficult to feel fools from the chains they revere”.

Tacitus: “Men are more ready to repay injury (even perceived injury) than a benefit because gratitude is a burden and revenge is a pleasure”. No doubt because gratitude is more associated with weakness, while revenge is associated with strength.

Arnold Toynbee: “Great civilizations die of suicide, not murder”.

The question is are we on a suicidal path?

David Jaronik

A difference does exist between socialism and democratic socialism

I just finished reading the Letter from George Cross and was totally amazed how well he pulls things out of nowhere. When are these right-wing, self-serving people going to get the facts right? His main point that Socialism is bad and failed under European countries has nothing to do with the USA. He’s confusing it with Democratic Socialism, which has thrived in European countries like Finland, Denmark Switzerland, Iceland and the Netherlands. Of these countries, four of five are where people are rated to be the happiest! Imagine that! Other countries like Sweden, Great Britain, Canada, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Australia, Japan and New Zealand have thrived under Democratic Socialism. So, lets all agree to STOP confusing Socialism with Democratic Socialism – a ploy used ad nauseam by the right-wing press &TV, politicians and the notoriously fake news spreader, Faux News (news? NOT).

To be clear, both Democratic Socialism and Socialism are for redistribution of wealth and power to meet public needs, not make profits for a few, like in the USA where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Democratic Socialism focuses more on providing basic needs to ALL people, such as health care and education. Democratic Socialism would achieve this through democratic means and not authoritarian control as Socialism does.

As for “packing the Supreme Court” it was the Republicans under McConnell who did that by pushing through a judge in the last weeks of Trump’s term, when he previously stalemated the seating of Merrick Garland a YEAR before the end of Obama’s term. Trump seated three right-wing judges which I believe is called “packing” the court. You didn’t complain then so why complain now?

As for the national debt of $28 trillion, when Trump took office it was $19.9 trillion. That’s an increase of about 40% in four years. He also lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, claiming that it would increase the average household income in the United States by $4,000. But that didn’t happen – the rich got richer and the poor got poorer….again!

Under Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, the 400 wealthiest people paid a lower tax rate than any other group and, as we all know, many large corporations ended up paying no taxes at all. Under Democratic Socialism the opposite would happen: the rich would pay more taxes and the middle class and poor would pay less taxes. Gee, seems like a winner to me.

So, let’s finally get it straight: Socialism is bad; Democratic Socialism is not and STOP CONFUSING THEM!!! Next, you can stop putting blame on Democrats for what the Republicans have already done.

CJ Stevens

State didn’t need saving from pandemic, just governor

I recently heard a speech by Czar Sisolak (Nevada’s governor) in which he took credit for seeing Nevada through the darkness of the Covid pandemic. His speech brought to mind a serious mental health condition known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP).

Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a mental health problem in which a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury in a person under his or her care.

-University of Michigan / Michigan Medicine.

Symptoms of Munchausen syndrome include:

• Looks for sympathy and attention.

• Needs to feel powerful and in control.

• Does not see his or her behavior as harmful.

So why did Sisolak’s speech Remind me of MSBP? Simple. Czar Sisolak brought about the devastation and darkness he credited to the Covid pandemic. He needlessly shut everything down, put hundreds of thousands of people out of work, caused thousands of businesses to fail and forced tens of thousands of people to file bankruptcy. Then takes credit for saving us.

Czar Sisolak, Nevada didn’t need saving from the Covid virus. Many states and even a few countries did not shut down. Why? Public officials in those states found it wasn’t necessary to take the draconian measures you took. So Czar Sisolak, we didn’t need saving from Covid. We needed saving from you.

Scott Culshaw