Letters to the Editor: Feb. 25, 2022

We can improve downtown Stuart experience with walkable street scene

I would like to pitch an idea to the Stuart city planners, for improving the downtown Stuart experience when it comes to traffic and Osceola Avenue.

There is too much of a constant stream of cars driving down Osceola between the storefronts and restaurants, starting right at Duffy's and ending at Mullligan’s. Oversized trucks barely fit in the parking spaces. People eating outside have to deal with constant fumes from traffic, and overall there is just too much congestion.

Why not make that entire portion of Osceola strictly walkable? It could be a better experience for all visitors. St. Augustine, Florida comes to mind with St. George Street, which is closed to all traffic. There could be a parking garage built possibly where the City Hall parking lot is now or even move City Hall and have a garage with some type of eating establishment or shops above the garage.

I have lived in Stuart for 30 years now and still enjoy going downtown. However, I can't help thinking every time I do, it could be more enjoyable and safer with fewer cars and less congestion.

Laurie Carr, Stuart

Free public education does not require education in public schools

The Feb. 20 column by Adam Bryn Tritt, “Our public schools are for the country and our democracy,” confuses free public education with public schools. In fact, you can have free public education without a single “public school." A system of educational vouchers for private and religious schools, along with a homeschooling option, could provide free public education for every child in America.

Such a system based on parental choice would surely do a better job of educating our children, including our poorest children, than the public schools are doing. Despite unprecedented levels of U.S. public school funding, U.S. scores in math, reading, and science literacy have been steadily dropping for over a decade according to the Program for International Student Assessment .Every three years PISA measures the abilities of 15-year-old students in 79 countries around the world, and most recently ranked the U.S. 31st in math literacy.

The public school system is failing.

Kenneth McAlpin, Jensen Beach

The Cold War may have paused, but it never ended: Putin is a 'real threat'

In September 1938, Neville Chamberlin met Adolf Hitler in Munich, an attempt to avert war in Europe. Hitler knew that there was no going back. This meeting was a farce, he would not retreat, he wanted the Thousand-Year Reich.

Fast forward to February 2022, again in Munich, the leaders of the United States and European nations meet to discuss the potential Russian invasion and annexation of Ukraine as a vassal state. Nothing will come of the meetings. The United States and our European allies can put as many “sanctions” in place as they like, but in the end, Ukraine will no longer be a free nation. Just as after World War II, Russia has one goal, expansion.

Vladimir Putin has one aspiration, the re-creation of the Soviet state, and words will not deter his ambition. The only thing a bully understands is somebody who stands up to him. Unfortunately, after 20 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, combined with our internal political divisions, we no longer have the national leadership, resolve or will (regardless of party) to stand up to dictatorial despots who are the real threats to this country.

Yes, we do have real domestic issues to resolve but we had better stop this country’s internal bickering and division and recognize that the Cold War may have paused, but it never ended. There will be those who ask why we should care about what happens over there. If we become myopic, like “America Firsters” of the ’30s between the world wars, we will not be able or willing to meet our real threats like Putin. We will simply play into Putin’s grand expansion plan.

Soon, all the gains seen since the fall of the Berlin Wall will be erased unless we are decisive in our response.

Bob McAllister, Jensen Beach

From 'grifter' to Congress, venality in government seeps into our streets

Why is the crime rate going up?

For four years, the White House was occupied by a grifter who thumbed his nose at the rule of law, and trampled on virtually every principle, custom and tradition of the office he held, as well as the U.S. Constitution.

For much longer than that, we’ve had a Congress whose members include far too many people who are more concerned with their own wealth and power than they are with serving the public; and it is so hobbled by hyper-partisanship that it cannot come to agreement on even the most basic tenets of democracy, e.g., the right to vote.

But ours is, after all, a representative form of government. So is it any wonder that this cruel venality has seeped into the streets of our cities and towns?

Put another way: If we are governed by thieves and outlaws, why should we be expected to behave any differently?

Donna Dupuy, Stuart

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Letters to the Editor: Feb. 25, 2022