Letters

“All men are created equal.” “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” “Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

These are the words written long ago that we Americans use to describe ourselves and our nation. They have not been fully achieved, as we are all aware, but they remain goals that we strive for.

They are our words. We had the gumption to write them down and let our behavior be evaluated by a candid world.

If your readers have traveled abroad, they may have seen the admiration of people in foreign countries. That comes from setting a high bar for ourselves and at times attaining it. Many people in this world look up to us Americans for our values, for our very soul. As if to say, “Go ahead, America, we need you to show us it can be done!”

Today, there is less of the high values and more of political division. Rancorous division stirred up through the use of “fake news,” which is derived from faux news, a pun for Fox News. Conspiracy theories abound, claptrap opinions are offered to replace rigorous scientific research. Most harmful is the resurgence of racism. Blue states and red states vie for federal benefits, blue states often having to go without.

The Trump administration began well four years ago. Cabinet members Rex Tillerson, James Mattis and Nikki Haley were first rate. All have gone long ago. Public disagreements with the president, under whose pleasure they originally served, were to blame for most of the dismissals.

Also gone are a record number of lower-level White House staffers, many who have made court appearances and some who have wound up in jail or been pardoned.

I say, enough to all of this. It is time to choose a successor to Mr. Trump.

His opponent, Joe Biden, is a forthright man. He is known and respected throughout the world. He is unafraid to admit and learn from his mistakes. He pledges to be the president for all of us, not just for the group that voted for him, and I believe he will be true to his word. He has the intellectual depth to understand that our nation needs to regain its soul.

I am voting for Joe Biden, and I encourage your readers to do so as well.

Bruce C. Doscher

Hampton Bays