Letters

When I was in high school (in the mid-1950s), my Social Studies/Geography teacher was pointing to the Indochina Peninsula as the next place where a war would be fought.

In reflection, many years ago, I am struck at her foresight. How did she know this?

She was instructing the class about how the United States was a self-sufficient country. When asked what she meant by that, she replied that the United States had everything it needs to sustain itself: iron and steel, coal, oil, glass, and even rubber trees and many other raw materials needed to produce whatever the country needs.

Skip ahead to 2009. In this age of globalization, the United States now imports many of the items needed — including medical devices and medications. Our manufacturing has moved offshore, along with the jobs it provided. Our economy is now called a service economy, where people do things for other people instead of producing a product.

Are we no longer self-sufficient? Yes, we are no longer self-sufficient. The question is: Should we stay that way?

President Trump has been blamed for a lot of the coronavirus problem. Is he really to blame? Most likely, the answer is no, not at all. Many critics have criticized the president for his handling of this crisis. I can only wonder what they critics would have done.

This president, Mr. Trump, or any other president would have been in the same situation, trying to get a handle on what was happening, trying to face an invisible enemy. The president, with the help of experts in their fields, is trying to find ways to protect the people. Is Mr. Trump doing the right thing? Probably yes. I’m just a citizen, and I think he is, but history will be the judge of that.

Complaining about being shut in and banned from large gatherings and other activities isn’t going to help anything, or make the virus go away any faster. Better to heed the advice of those experts on personal spacing, staying indoors, etc., and then we might see a light at the end of this tunnel.

John Piazza

Southampton