Wednesday's letters: Remember Vietnam War vets, fight for our democracy

Honor sacrifice of Vietnam War veterans

March 29 is National Vietnam War Veterans Day. It is a day for honoring the service and sacrifice that members of the military made during the Vietnam era.

As commander of Alpha Company Vietnam Brotherhood here in Sarasota, I wish to say “Welcome Home” to all our Vietnam veterans.

There probably will not be much fanfare to commemorate the fairly new day, so I wanted to remind our community of the opportunity to remember Vietnam veterans for their sacrifice and service.

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I also wish to thank all veterans for their service to our great nation. You helped keep America free.

Brian J. Russ, commander, Alpha Company Vietnam Brotherhood, Sarasota

Another step toward authoritarianism

There you have it, my fellow Floridians. See how far the pernicious scheming of Gov. Ron DeSantis and his toady Republican allies has gone in advancing their agenda of hate and intolerance. When they gain a discriminatory inch, they will push for an invidious mile.

In their mission to bring the power of our one-political-party state to bear against minorities they don’t like, they now propose to extend the Don’t Say Gay law to all grades in public schools.

My dear pious governor, what absurdity will you propose next in your mania to slay your imaginary Woke Dragon?

Lest your supporters or their children feel uncomfortable, will you remove even more books from school libraries and further restrict school curricula?

More:Manatee teachers close class libraries, fearing prosecution under new Florida law

To satisfy your bigotry while pandering for future votes, will you require that LGBTQ+ students be restricted from all co-curricular activities, use separate classrooms and drinking fountains and perhaps wear pink triangles?

Tsk, tsk, Ron. What will be the final price of your political ambitions as you lead Florida down the slippery slope of authoritarianism? Have you no shame?

Michael McGuire, Sarasota

Fishing guides hogging Patterson Park

The Nora Patterson Bay Island Park, on Siesta Key, has been taken over by commercial fishing guides.

Every day the parking lot is filled, yet there are no people there because they have all left on commercial boats.

The boats then jockey around the small boat dock to pick up and drop off passengers. They crowd up the area and local boaters have to maneuver around them.

It is also disturbing that the fishing guides fillet their catch there and throw the carcasses in the water to cause odor when they rot. This is not permitted at marinas such as Venice.

If Sarasota County is going to continue to allow the park to be used for this purpose, it should charge a permitting fee for commercial uses.

Maureen Baltzer, Siesta Key

Use tractors with rakes to clean beaches

There is an easy way to clean the dead fish off Sarasota’s public beaches: Use tractors with surf rakes.

Long Island’s Jones Beach, where I spent many summer days, rakes the sand from the water’s edge to the high tide line daily. Starting at 5 a.m., the tractors and beach rakes pick up wood, bottle caps and other debris, including seaweed.

It can be done here. And because raking is below the high tide line, the county would have an unobstructed path to a better beach experience.

Mike Rado, Sarasota

Americans must speak up

The world watched in awe when Americans in great numbers protested against the Vietnam War and President Richard Nixon’s perfidy, and for civil rights and women’s rights.

But today we raise no unified objection as our children are slaughtered by guns, abortion rights are under threat and American-born citizens are refused the right to vote.

What’s changed?

I watch as Israelis fight for democracy and witness the French (destructively) react to a unilateral decision by their prime minister.

Have we become the proverbial frog in the pot of increasingly warm water, stirred to react only after it’s too late?

If you don’t know our democracy is being challenged, you haven’t been paying attention.

Terry Needell, University Park

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Recognize Vietnam War Veterans Day, leading state down slippery slope