Letter: Promoting an 'anything goes' mentality in Florida
I’d like to comment on the editorial from Sunday’s paper (May 15, 2023) from the Palm Beach Post. Since I do not see a name for the writer of this ‘piece of work,’ I will only address him/her as “EDITOR”.
The attacks leveled in this lengthy tirade are too numerous to respond to each so I’ll attempt to be more general since they all seem to have the same goal, which is to promote an environment of the “anything goes” mentality.
As the Editor attacks the Florida State Legislature and the governor, s/he fails to acknowledge the ones who are really being criticized are the people of Florida. It was the people who elected this “shameful” Legislature and governor and by very wide margins.
And who are these people? Some are residents who have lived here a very long time. Others are the refugees who pour into our state every day from New York, New Jersey, California, and other places that have given up on a Christian lifestyle and a democratic system of government!
More: Editorial: One of worst Florida legislative sessions ever
Many, if not most, of the voters, have come here to escape to lifestyles that you so adamantly promote. I’d bet that Floridians, as a whole, would promote law-abiding citizens to have the right to have a gun. They would also like to curb the murder rate by restricting abortions to the extent that they can.
I also feel safe to say that most Floridians don’t give a hoot if a person is gay or bi or trans. What they don’t want is to have such lifestyles become so important that laws have to be enacted to protect their individual sexual choices. The categories of the LGBTQ are personal sexual choices that, like any sexual choice, belong in the bedroom as a private matter, not in the nation’s newspaper headlines or in the courts.
The Editor goes on to blame the huge increases in property insurance as the “single biggest driver” in housing affordability. Again, I beg to differ. I believe that the huge influx of people from the other 49 is the major cause of housing affordability, such as in ‘supply and demand.’ The demand is large simply because Florida is such a desirable place to reside, despite your many criticisms.
The Legislature is also called to task for restricting “race history education.” Personally, I believe that there are many race-related programs throughout the state, beginning with Black History Month and continuing through a number of events, and celebrations.
What we’re lacking is perhaps information on the American Indian tribes, many are the basis of Florida’s history. The true history of the Confederate Soldier has become taboo since the loud, misguided voices of the left, have determined them to be bigots!
All in all, your Editorial was horrible and I beseech you to not repeat your divisive rhetoric on future Sundays as you have promised. But, although the News-Journal brags to be “The Independent Voice of Volusia & Flagler Counties”, it is my understanding that the DBNJ is under the control and ownership of the national conglomerate of Gannett publications. And so, perhaps that Independent Voice is not really so independent?
Brian Weber, Port Orange
Retired
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Letter: Promoting an 'anything goes' mentality in Florida
