It’s not about an election. It’s not about politics. There is something wrong with our society. Deeply. Troubling. And in the words of my departed Polish grandmother (who I had nothing in common with except genes, familial love and a propensity toward macular degeneration): “I don’t know what the world is coming to, but I pray for the future.”
She was referring to crime and gangs back in the 1990s. That is child’s play.
Grandma, what would you say now?
— Pamela Winters, Crystal Lake
Who are we as a people?
What does it say about us as a country that we elected as our next president not only a convicted felon but also a traitor to our country? Who are we? I just found out.
— Chuck Kessler, Northbrook
Trump the person we need
The Democrats complain that Donald Trump is a bully, ignoring his well-spoken policies.
However, we see alliances forming between Russia and China, North Korea and Russia regarding Ukraine, and Iran with its proxies and drones everywhere.
Those are bad bullies on steroids.
Thankfully, most people recognize we need a good MAGA bully who understands peace through strength and deterrence, to counter the evil ones who would do us and the West harm.
Trump will engage adversaries directly, eyeball to eyeball, without hesitation or fear.
The presidential race was not a Miss Congeniality contest. It was about who has the best policies to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility against crime, provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare to secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, per the Constitution.
— David N. Simon, Chicago
Is he someone to emulate?
I am so sad the morning after the election because it seems our country is so sick. All of the people who voted for Donald Trump, please answer this question: Would you want your children to grow up to be a person like Trump?
— Richard Dreger, Batavia
Trump’s brand of leadership
In his book “Profiles in Courage,” President John F. Kennedy wrote: “In a democracy, every citizen regardless of his interest in politics, ‘holds office’; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.”
I hang my head in shame and sorrow that so many fellow citizens could elect a convicted felon, a man found liable for sexual assault, a liar and a cheat who made outrageous statements in every campaign speech, to serve the people of the United States. So now we can look forward to economically destructive mass deportations; imprisonment of those in disagreement with the president; ruinous policies for women, children and families; and ridiculous tariffs that will only increase the cost of goods in America.
Shame on those who voted for this form of political leadership. He isn’t, and never will be, my president. Millions of voters do not deserve his brand of leadership. I weep for what America has become and what we have lost.
— Patricia Kluzik, Elgin
Vote earns you the right
Now that the voting is over, I will being asking people: “Did you vote?”
When I hear someone complaining about who won, I’ll ask: “Did you vote?”
A lot of those individuals will reply “no.”
I believe that if you voted, you can complain all you want. But if you didn’t bother to vote, you are not allowed to complain.
— Myron Winchester, Calumet City
Election Day is sacred
Election Day is a reverent day in my family. The members of my Greek family were proud to be American — to vote for our leaders, to vote for our laws, to vote for democracy. Freedom of speech. Education.
I cannot imagine the elation my Yiayia and my Papou must have felt as they disembarked from their long journey from Greece aboard the Galgo. They arrived in April 1907.
Growing up with the example set forth by people who are thankful every day to be American, to be free, that example becomes a way of life. Having an aunt who earned a proclamation in her hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin, when she was close to 80 years old for never having missed voting in an election, I have endeavored to follow her example.
I voted in this election.
The line wound around the hallways in the village hall, but it was an efficient operation; many pleasant judges, all helpful and cheerful. No paper ballots, as there would be no way to manage all that paper.
Standing in line, I heard: ‘First-time voter!” The entire place erupted with applause.
— Laurie Andropolis Whitman, La Grange Park
Equating the rhetoric
Regarding the editorial “It’s time to vote. All will be glad when this singularly nasty election is over” (Nov. 5): I was astounded at the Tribune Editorial Board’s attempt to equate the rhetoric of both candidates in this election. Donald Trump’s rhetoric has indeed been hateful, calling immigrants animals and musing about imagining rifles trained on former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney’s face. Kamala Harris has not engaged in such juvenile, inflammatory speech. The editorial board’s feeble attempt to equate them insults Tribune readers and further diminishes the Tribune’s credibility with readers who have followed its election coverage.
— Jane Lupton, Evanston
Losing a brother in blue
On Monday night, another Chicago police officer, 26-year-old Enrique Martinez, was shot and killed. To many, it may just be “a traffic stop gone wrong,” but to a cop, based on police training, common sense and intuition, there may be something more to a traffic infraction. The driver may someone who is driving drunk, a felon who is fleeing or someone who has stolen the car. There are myriad possibilities, and they make traffic stops one of the most dangerous situations a police officer can face.
For citizens who are anti-police or who feel authority does not have a place in society, another police murder may induce little emotion. To law-abiding individuals who appreciate that laws provide a device to maintain order in society, protect people’s rights and freedoms, and ensure a system of justice, you may feel bad that another police officer died in the line of duty.
To someone in law enforcement, the loss of a police officer is a personal affront. This could be someone we may once have worked with, someone who may have saved our life during another tour of duty or someone we have never met. But this is someone who died doing the same thing we have done many times without consequence. To hear that the life of another brother or sister in blue has been taken is like having a piece of our heart severed from the whole. We look for answers from our God, and we shed tears for someone we may not know but who shared our beliefs.
Most police officers look at police work as a calling. We were or are trying to uphold the laws of society, accepting the challenge of serving the public with little reward. The challenge is increased when society wants to eliminate the tools that assist police in curbing crime.
It is time to restore those tools and to promote understanding that laws need to be respected and upheld. We need to return to the basics of law enforcement. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck …
Because the trend to criticize the police has expanded, the few willing to run toward the gunfire rather than away from it have become fewer. The thin blue line has become thinner.
Rest easy, warrior. You will not be forgotten.
— Brigid Cronin, retired Chicago police officer, Chicago
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