Letters to the Editor: Writers share opinions on country's independence and Roe v Wade
Americans still strive for independence today
We have just celebrated Independence Day. The fireworks and festivities reminded me there are many facets to the precious independence we cherish as Americans.
Of course, the most obvious and discussed part of independence was political in nature. The Declaration of Independence itself famously opens “When…it becomes necessary for People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another…”
This Declaration was not taken lightly or without sufficient cause. Indeed, Thomas Jefferson listed 27 injuries and usurptations caused by the King of England and his agents and after listing them he appealed “to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions.”
Those who secured American independence helped “decide the important questions upon which (would) rest the happiness and liberty of millions not yet born.” For this, we rejoice.
But our independence stretches beyond these political bands. We live in a time where family and economic independence is also a matter of public concern.
The last two years have exposed compromises in American independence. We have discovered the freedom and independence of parents to direct the education of their own children has been questioned or undermined by a bureaucratic approach that is arguably not transparent and accountable.
On the economic front, the term supply chains has become trendy as America allowed shortages and disruptions to occur. Production, and the jobs of producers, were transferred overseas. We have discovered even critical materials and products were outsourced to far-away places. In numerous cases they have become significantly controlled by our adversaries.
Arguably poor policy decisions by our current administration have resulted in the effective squandering of the energy independence obtained by American entrepreneurs and workers as the shale gas revolution, centered partly in Ohio, helped lower energy costs and benefitted people here and abroad.
Americans of all persuasion have taken note of these developments. I am confident We the People will rise to the occasion and work to revitalize these and other facets of American independence in 2022 and beyond.
Jack Etheridge is elected to the Republican State Central Committeeman for Senate District 19 which includes all of Coshocton County, and is employed in Coshocton.
Women's rights retreat in Roe v. Wade overturn
When it comes to Roe v. Wade, I am old enough to remember the struggle that women had to go through to get the law passed. I also remember the long struggle to get insurance companies to cover birth control for women while men could get Viagra covered by their insurance companies with no problem.
Equality? Women have always had to struggle for equality and now what gains that have been made are being taken away. Now the rumor is they are going after birth control. Isn’t birth control a way to prevent an unwanted pregnancy?
The world is not black and white, there are gray areas in every situation. I personally do not believe in abortion, but I also do not believe that I have the right to judge another woman’s decision. I don’t know her circumstances and I don’t answer for her decision. Her health care decisions should be between her and her doctor. How in the year 2022 are we going backward in the struggle for women’s rights?
Tomma Bordenkircher, Coshocton
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Writers share opinions on country's independence and Roe v Wade
