Yes, love America. It starts with learning our true history.

Yes, I love America

Teach Your Kids to Love America | Column, May 28

Thanks to columnist Peggy Noonan. Though she may not have intended it, she painted a perfect dichotomy for the upcoming presidential election. Sure, there are a few on the far left and far right who despise America’s past and present morality. But the vast majority of us love and respect this great but imperfect country.

So let’s teach our children to love America, but teach them honestly about our greatness, as well as our mistakes and shortcomings, past and present, which is best done by the example we set and the choices we make.

The most important election in American history is approaching. To teach your children the values ​​you love about America, vote for candidates who create those values. Do you love and respect the U.S. Constitution, the rule of law, the separation of powers, our judicial system, and all of our foundational institutions, the fallen American soldiers who defended your democracy, the rights of all Americans, and democracy against authoritarianism? Who best creates these values?

The lesson has started. Please teach the children well.

Rod Dalton, St. Petersburg

“All the good and the bad”

Teach Your Kids to Love America | Column, May 28

Columnist Peggy Noonan argues that we live in an age where children are taught that “America is and always has been a dark, conspiratorial place,” but I disagree. I don’t know anyone who teaches children to hate America, but I have seen politicians try to portray anyone who sees both the good and the bad of American history as hating America.

Noonan advocates teaching children from the 1900 “Manual of Patriotism.” Instead of teaching a glorified version of history, we should teach the real American history, with all its good and bad. Children should learn about the ideals of justice and equality so eloquently enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. They should also learn that our democratic experiment was born out of the original sin of slavery.

Children should learn that although slavery was abolished, the rights of black Americans were eroded to a thin veneer by Jim Crow laws, lynchings in the South, the Great Migration to the North, and limited housing and employment prospects due to racial segregation.

I can’t think of a better way to make young people cynical and apathetic than to remove anything from history that “might offend someone.” People should be uncomfortable with parts of history. That doesn’t mean I hate America. Every country is imperfect. We are fortunate to live in America and to be able to take action to make our country better and move closer to the ideals our Founding Fathers expressed.

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Robert Trehi, St. Petersburg

Further flood prevention measures

This Week’s Spotlight Two Takeaways on Climate Change from Tampa Bay Forum | March 24

We’d like to thank the Tampa Bay Times and our sponsors for hosting this recent Spotlight Forum on climate change, especially its impacts on Tampa Bay. It was great to hear directly from Mayors Jane Kastl and Kenneth Welch, Nobel laureate Terry Root, marine scientist Gary Mitchum, and Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council Resilience Director Carla Woods-Serra. The discussion was full of both concern and hope, especially when it comes to what local cities are already doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as expanding tree canopy and promoting zero-emission construction. There’s also concern, as there’s still work to be done.

Kastor specifically noted that long-term planning has been “slow and steady” in Tampa, and that current policies are not enough to protect future development from rising sea levels. Welch said there is an increasing need to move development away from high-risk areas along the coast.

There are several important climate mitigation efforts underway, including St. Petersburg’s recently approved $760 million, 20-year Stormwater Master Plan. Also, studies are currently underway in St. Petersburg to address storm surge. Hopefully, we will never see another hurricane like Idalia, or worse, until these urgently needed projects are in place. There is a lot of good work being done to plan for recovery and rebuilding from major storms. But prevention and mitigation are the best and least expensive policies in the long run.

Will Michaels, St. Petersburg

Missed Opportunities

This Week’s Spotlight Two Takeaways on Climate Change from Tampa Bay Forum | March 24

The Tampa Bay Times’ recent Spotlight Tampa Bay Forum on Climate Change missed an opportunity to include things that would actually benefit the climate while improving people’s quality of life: active transportation, human-powered transportation such as walking and biking, and micromobility, which includes the use of small electric vehicles such as scooters and golf carts.

Transportation issues were the focus of discussion, mostly about cars and public transport. Nobel laureate Terry L. Root asked the audience to commit to buying electric cars. I wondered why she didn’t encourage people to think about their transportation choices for each trip, or to live less car-dependent lives, i.e. fewer cars per household.

In our region, trips are often three miles or less, so why not talk about the progress we’re making toward a connected, safe network for walking, biking, and shared micromobility? Or give examples of services and amenities that encourage a mode shift. For example, Localtopia in St. Petersburg offers free bike valet service, which has avoided more than 1,000 car trips in a single day this year. The Tampa Bay Lightning also offers bike valet service at home games, which is often packed. Car enthusiasts might not think of using active transportation, but many may consider it if the route is safe, comfortable, and full of amenities.

Providing active transportation alone won’t solve all of our climate problems, but it certainly helps. Active transportation is cheaper and quicker to implement than public transportation, and it’s worthy of being incorporated into the discussions of the Tampa Bay Climate Change Expert Panel.

Christine Acosta, Tampa

America needs responsible voters

Vote more | Letter, May 26

In the “Please Vote More” letter, the writer states, “My personal problem is not with foreigners who might vote, but with citizens who are eligible but don’t.” She is certainly right not to worry about foreigners, because they don’t vote. But the last thing I want is for the number of voters who are not interested in voting to increase.

We don’t need voters who view social media as a credible news source (there’s a reason TikTok and Instagram content doesn’t win Pulitzer Prizes). We also have 13% of voters who polled who believe President Joe Biden has overturned Roe v. Wade. And we have over 50% of voters who say they think the current job market is the worst in the past 50 years, not the best. People who can’t understand that today’s average wage can buy more than four years ago, even when accounting for inflation. People who make public health pronouncements that start with, “I’m not a doctor, but…” People who support governors and legislators who insist on removing references to climate change from state documents as a solution to global warming. This list is just a few of the important issues most voters never study before voting.

I view voting as a privilege. With privilege comes responsibility. The tragedy of our nation is that too many people use their privilege without responsibility. What we need isn’t more voters, but better voters.

Jim Smith, St. Petersburg

Garbage Collection

Be cautious about increasing trash fees in Tampa | Editorial, May 29

The sentiment expressed in the recent editorial is spot on, especially when it comes to reducing rubbish collection to once a week: If you look at our streets on the second day of the weekly collection, you will see that two in every 12 homes are left for collection.

Todd Wickner, Tampa

The right questions

Be cautious about increasing trash fees in Tampa | Editorial, May 29

An editorial on Tampa’s trash rates asks, “Could weekly collection service collect the same volume more efficiently?” For this homeowner, the answer is a firm yes. My trash collection schedule is Tuesday and Friday, but I can’t remember the last time I put my cart out more than one day a week, and even then it was usually two bags at most. Before the city increases rates, they should try at least once a week to see how it works.

Joseph Brown, Tampa

Don’t talk to me

Robert De Niro slams Trump at Biden campaign press conference outside New York courthouse | May 28

First, let me say that Robert De Niro has made a lot of great movies. That being said, I wouldn’t take political advice from him, just as I wouldn’t take surgery advice from a fast food worker. The Biden administration, which likes to claim the high road, showed its true colors on Tuesday with a staged event across the street from where former President Donald Trump’s trial was taking place. In November, the American people will send a clear message to the Democratic Party that we will no longer tolerate their left-wing policies that have brought nothing but pain, suffering and humiliation to the United States and all Americans.

Mark Kahn, Wesley Chapel

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