Today's letters: Donations from Gainesville to Ukraine receive a grateful reply

Letters to the editor present the opinions of readers on news stories and other pieces published by The Sun.

Thanks from Ukraine

The following is a thank-you letter received from Ukraine:

“I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I wish you were here, dear American ladies. I will start with the truth! When my colleague called and said somebody from the U.S. wanted to help us with warm clothes, I doubted it was true. I had to go to another region to save my loved ones.

When I received the parcel, I looked at the clothes and imagined you, saying goodbye to your pretty clothes and sending them away. I am joyful and am absolutely in heaven! We are grateful for the warm clothes, shoes and something yummy in the jar. I understand it is peanut butter (which) we have never tried before.

Thank you, friends at the University Church of Christ and Altrusa club of Gainesville. You brought so much encouragement to me!  For the first time in months, I feel that am not alone trying to prepare us here for a long and cold winter. I do not remember being lifted like this ever! If you can measure happiness in drops of water, then I just bathed in it today! Thank you so much for this incredible day!  

With love and gratitude,

Irina”

Dee Dugger, president, Altrusa of Gainesville 

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Fox propaganda

Recently we were graced with somber news that Vladimir Putin intentionally bombed civilian strongholds in Kyiv and Dnipro, killing innocent people yet again. This act of terrorism cannot be excused. So, what did Fox News air the following day? A segment accusing a teacher’s union boss of being unfair to American students by visiting those in Ukraine, of course.

Apparently looking out for those in the direst of situations is “un-American.” Their argument was that American youths are still feeling the mental health effects of having to bear through online learning over the pandemic and that our priorities should be domestic-centric. Right. How kind of us.

What is un-American about desiring to put people in need above our own lesser important interests? Over the past eight months, Ukrainians have seen their lives and homes destroyed. Many have witnessed the deaths of friends and family members; escaped through dangerous means and suffered from hunger, dehydration, exhaustion, displacement, etc. Children have died.

It is not righteous to ridicule a union official for looking out for others. But Fox News is well aware of this. If they really desired to help American students recuperate after experiencing the challenges of distance learning, they wouldn’t air consistently false information about mental health or discreetly advocate for the underfunding of the public school system.

This is not a news organization. This is a propaganda conglomerate.  

Claire Rotchford, Gainesville 

Decisive issue

With the elections at hand, people are talking about inflation, abortion, climate change, crime, gun control, immigration, Medicare, Social Security, Ukraine/Russia and more. But far too many have lost sight of what should be the decisive issue: Donald Trump.

Trump lost in 2020 and failed in every legal, constitutional process effort to prove otherwise. So then he violated his sworn oath to the Constitution and did everything he could to have a huge mob gather on Jan 6 — many shouting about hanging Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi — to overthrow the law, the courts and the Constitution.

They failed. Very narrowly. But he still claims he won. And he so dominates the Trump/Republican Party that the great majority of the Republicans running for office support this existential threat to our republic

Do you want that man and his defenders — who threaten our 225-year history of allegiance to the Constitution — to control Congress and state and local governments?

Geoff Pietsch, Gainesville

Your vote matters

A very important midterm election is coming on Nov. 8. This could be the most important vote you will ever make. Our democracy depends on your vote, so read up on all the candidates and issues and choose carefully.

As Neil DeGrasse Tyson wrote, "Do whatever it takes to avoid fooling yourself into believing that something is true when it is false, or that something is false when it is true."

Remember: your vote matters.

Nancy Parkinson, Gainesville

Consider parking

We are all concerned about the health of our planet. Some people want severe measures taken to limit the use of fossil fuels.

I wonder how many of these people sit in the drive-thru lines at Starbucks, McDonald's and other establishments with their motors running?

Maybe they should consider parking and walking in the next time! Save the planet, some expensive gas, and take a few extra daily steps. It sounds like a win all around to me!

Gary Munsterman, Gainesville

Journalism matters. Your support matters.

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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Letters on Ukraine, Fox News, Donald Trump's actions on Jan. 6, more