People of principle: This president, in less than two weeks, has done more damage to American values and our standing in the world than any other president in my 70 years of memory. When Nixon imploded, men and women of principle stood up and said No! The time has already come for Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan to decide if they will be remembered as principled leaders standing up for America’s values or as sycophants for this misguided and dangerous president.
Jim Brooks, Southeast Portland
Supporting Trump’s actions for safety: Trump is only trying to keep our country safe. So why is everyone fighting him all the way? You would think he is doing something bad for our country the way people are acting. I think our safety is worth fighting for and I agree with what Trump is doing.
Claudia Craig, Charleston
What the ban will mean: I find President Trump’s ban on Syrian refugees entering the U.S. incredibly worrying. I fear that it will diminish U.S. influence around the world and actually increase the likelihood of terrorism against U.S. citizens, as it shows us to be just as indiscriminately hostile to Muslims as ISIL, in recruiting jihadists, claims us to be.
The ban noticeably doesn’t ban citizens from any of the countries where 9/11 terrorists came from, which were Saudi Arabia (15), United Arab Emirates (2), Egypt (1), Lebanon (1)
Since 9/11, not one American has been killed in a terrorist attack by a citizen of the seven countries under the current ban.
More than that, we have always been a compassionate nation. The conflict in Syria, according to the European University Institute, has destroyed the lives of over 10 million innocent citizens; 4.8 million are refugees within their country, while 6 million have fled outside, many of these women and children. To turn our backs on this amount of suffering is like the nations who turned their backs on Jews fleeing the Nazis in Europe. And if we do, we will create generations of Syrians who hate us, ripe for jihadist recruitment. Is that really what we want to do?
Maya Muir, Southeast Portland
Stolen property: The Supreme Court seat is stolen property. It does not belong to the Republican party or to Donald Trump. President Obama nominated a qualified candidate 10 months ago and Republicans blocked it. Stealing is not okay! It’s against the law and it’s unconstitutional. Such an approach damages our country. And now Republicans want us to just get over it? Would they? What exactly makes them so different from us? My response: Hell, no!
Eric Canon, Forest Grove
Morally unconscionable: I was heartbroken to see President Trump issue an executive order on immigration last Friday, and then to wake up on Saturday to reports of immigrants, refugees and green card holders detained at airports around the United States.
Many legal scholars question the constitutionality of the order, but more fundamentally, it flies in the face of America’s oldest value articulated by the earliest European settlers: the protection of those seeking shelter from violence and persecution.
As Americans, we have not always held true to this value. Notably, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the day this order was signed, we remember how the United States turned away thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. The United States cannot save everyone affected by turmoil around the world, but it is inconsistent with our values and morally unconscionable that we do not at least do our part.
Susan Bickerstaff, Northeast Portland
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