Sunday's letters: Buzzards on the beach, republic vs. democracy, freedom to protest
Flocks of buzzards seen on Lido Beach
Sarasota and surrounding areas hold a very dear place in my heart. I’ve visited here many times over the last 47 years and spent countless precious hours on the different beaches.
So imagine my shock and sadness when I visited Lido Beach on Dec. 5. There was some red tide, which I’ve come to expect after watching Siesta Key Beach develop bacteria and mold growth over the last several years. There were many dead fish, which are also an increasingly common sight.
Related:Red tide forecast to cause respiratory irritation in Sarasota, Manatee
But flocks of buzzards were a first for me.
Buzzards on the beach? How much worse must this situation get before tourism and the area economy are really hurt? Speaking with several locals, opinions are that the causes are multiple: toxic runoff from the north, pesticide and herbicide drainage, flooding after the hurricane, etc.
More:How to send a letter to the editor
I ask everyone to contact leaders and agencies in this area so our beloved land of flowers, plants, fish, birds and more resumes its pristine state.
Mark Pitstick, Chillicothe, Ohio
Popular vote would level playing field
So, the Dec. 7 letter writer who espouses our “republic” over a democratic (small “d”) way of governance thinks that we are better off deciding the presidency with the Electoral College, as we do now. Oh, dear.
Obviously, he doesn’t understand that when you wish to level the playing field and ensure the power of each and every citizen’s vote, it matters not where the voter resides. The popular vote guarantees the same value for each and every individual, unlike the Electoral College, and thus the majority elects the president, regardless of the political leanings of the state in which the voters reside.
That is how civilized countries work. It is how democracy works. It is how we must bring our country into the 21st century and eliminate any further efforts to overturn the will of the electorate, as was nearly the case in the 2020 election.
Had the Donald Trump loyalists succeeded in putting forth their own, false electors, we would be living in an authoritarian regime today.
We cannot let that happen. We must abolish the Electoral College once and for all and let freedom and democracy ring.
Tina Steele, Sarasota
Constitution prescribes Electoral College
Most Americans have pledged allegiance to our flag. When they pledged allegiance, they did so “to the flag” and “the Republic for which it stands,” not to the democracy for which it stands.
Our founders did not want a democracy, with a popular vote, for fear that a few large population centers would dictate our legislative and executive agendas, disenfranchising all but the most populous states. It was true in 1788, when the Constitution was ratified, and it’s true today.
The Electoral College is part of that republic and ensures that the intention in our Constitution is carried out.
So please, remind those who pledge allegiance, yet speak of scrapping the republic and the Electoral College, that they are acting in direct violation of their pledge and that sacred document.
Thomas G. Moore, Bradenton
Freedom to protest is alive and well
Please forgive me if I chuckle out loud at the Dec. 7 editorial by Opinions Editor Roger Brown, “Will the freedom to protest survive in the ‘Free State of Florida’”?
More:Will the freedom to protest survive?
The editorial itself protested the “outrageous Parental Rights in Education law,” the “lawsuit-riddled Stop WOKE Act,” “book banning” − all without noting how these laws limited “freedom.”
It also protested “new rules that limit the rights of protesters to gather at the Capitol in Tallahassee.” (Are these similar to those that limit the rights of protesters at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.?)
And on the same page were letters to the editor titled “Shut down Flynn’s efforts to remake GOP” and “Trump repeats call for insurrection,” as well as an opinion piece criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci’s handling of school lockdowns.
Yes, freedom to protest is alive and well in Florida! Unfortunately, it seems to be slanted toward the progressive side in the Herald-Tribune.Bill Mosca, Port Charlotte
DeSantis rides ‘woke’ issue to victory
When Gov. Ron DeSantis gave his victory speech after the Nov. 8 election, he made his now-famous comment, “Florida is where woke comes to die.”
Not being exactly certain what “woke” meant, I decided to look it up. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word as: “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).”
Since DeSantis has evoked the death penalty on “woke,” this means that he has now banned the teaching in Florida of important societal facts and issues, especially issues of racial and social justice.
Is this the freedom DeSantis states he is bringing to Florida?
Arnie Moskowitz, Sarasota
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Dead fish nothing new on Lido Beach, but buzzards a surprise
