In the foreground of a photo Donald Trump posed for on Aug. 26 at Arlington National Cemetery is a grave unaffiliated with his photo-op. I looked up the soldier; he was a Green Beret like my stepdad and was from the same hometown as my mom. He enlisted out of high school after 9/11, when my stepdad reenlisted. This soldier went through special forces selection around the same time my stepdad did and joined 3rd Group; I had the group’s flash on my kid-size green beret.
Like my stepdad, this soldier served multiple tours in Afghanistan and around the world; I know what his two kids must have felt like growing up with that admirable, complicated backdrop. I’m thankful not to know what they felt like when their dad didn’t come home. He was 36.
I’m a 30-year-old poet and a Democrat. I send emails all day for work. I’ve never worn a uniform except that kid-size green beret. But this soldier so easily could have been my soldier. His story — and his family’s experience — is privately familiar to millions of Americans. That’s what we honor. I want a president who respects that, too.
— Tanner Pruitt, Chicago
Harris’ criticism is rich
Several Gold Star families invited Trump to come to Arlington National Cemetery and take photos at the memorial service there.
Did Vice President Kamala Harris or President Joe Biden call the families of the military members who were killed in Afghanistan due to the administration’s grossly negligent withdrawal from and abandonment of Bagram Air Field in August 2021?
And Harris has the chutzpah to tweet her criticism of Trump for attending the memorial at Arlington as a political stunt.
— David N. Simon, Chicago
On behalf of my father
Politicking in late August on the sacred grounds of Arlington National Cemetery and declaring the Presidential Medal of Freedom he awarded a billionaire donor “much better” than the Medal of Honor, the highest of our armed forces’ decorations — these are two of the most recent displays of disrespect presidential candidate Donald Trump has shown our troops.
The former president’s longest-serving chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, confirmed Trump called those who served and sacrificed for our country “suckers” and “losers.”
In 2015, we watched candidate Trump denigrate the military service of U.S. Sen. John McCain, who was shot down over Hanoi during the Vietnam War and held there for nearly six years as a prisoner of war. Trump capped his insults of war hero Capt. McCain with: “I like people who weren’t captured.”
My father was a combat-damaged veteran of the Korean War who, like McCain, received a Bronze Star for this valor. My father would have been repulsed by a president who crossed into North Korea to shake hands with its leader, Kim Jong Un; lavished praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping; and fawned over Russian President Vladimir Putin.
My father died 40 years after he’d served his country as an American GI with half his foot gone, nightmares cutting short his sleep and shrapnel still breaking through his skin when he showered. I am compelled to speak out on my father’s behalf.
My father would say Trump is a coward who kowtows to dictators and serves only himself and any billionaire willing to back his candidacy, and he’d be baffled as to how Trump became the Republican standard bearer.
My father would say the whiny sore loser belongs in prison for inciting an attack on our Capitol. He’d say showing a lack of respect for our troops and Gold Star families should disqualify one from ever becoming our president.
— Jane Cox, Wheaton
Trump’s photo-op wrong
I come from a family of veterans. Three of my great-great uncles served in the Union Army in the Civil War; my father and all of my uncles served in World War II; and I served in Vietnam (1968-69). Donald Trump’s vile behavior at Arlington National Cemetery is an affront not only to veterans past and present but also to all decent Americans.
— Alan Bergeson, Winfield
Definition of manhood
Regarding the Clarence Page column “Manhood is on the ballot, as if politics weren’t crazy enough” (Sept. 1): If time in uniform is a sure indication of manhood, where does that leave me? I retired from the Navy in 1996. And ain’t I a woman?
— Margaret Macdonald, Lake Bluff
Democrats’ interference
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has admitted to Congress that Facebook engaged in censorship in COVID-19 matters and in the Hunter Biden computer matter at the behest of Democratic and White House officials. I am reminded of a comment Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made recently in a speech while on the stage with Donald Trump: “(Censorship) is always the first step down that slippery slope to totalitarianism.”
True? You bet. Free speech is the linchpin of a democracy. No free speech, no democracy. It’s that simple. Ready for the speech police?
— Neil Gaffney, Chicago
Word choice matters
I just read Laura Washington’s column regarding Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her engagement with voters on crime (“Harris must engage with voters on crime to maintain momentum,” Aug. 26). While she makes a valid point vis-à-vis swing voters, her use of the word “enemy” is unfortunate and further stokes the flames of divisiveness that are so pervasive in our country.
Republicans and Democrats are not at “war” with each other, and neither should consider the other an enemy. Instead, the word “opposition” should have been used, as that more accurately describes the differences of opinion and approach that voters must consider in this election.
Ukraine and Russia are truly enemies, but we need to remind ourselves that whether Republican or Democrat, we are one country and should therefore turn down the rhetoric that divides us.
— Jim Galin, Hinsdale
We need healing
Now that the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention are history, let us focus our attention on the healing of the nation.
In the words of St. Paul: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.” It is in the spirit of selflessness that we can truly move forward as a people and a country.
— Teri Pehta, Glen Ellyn
Don’t mock a child
I am very aware that the political climate is heated, especially close to an election. However, some behavior is never acceptable.
Radio show co-hosts Amy Jacobson and Dan Proft should never again be allowed to have anything to do with any youth activities. Period. Gus Walz, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s son, is a 17-year-old kid — special needs or not.
Jacobson’s rationale for her comments about Gus indicated that it would be OK if he didn’t have a learning disability. Really? Since when it is OK to make fun of a kid?
It makes me wonder: If this was their public behavior, what exactly have they said to children being coached or in a learning situation? I’m pretty sure this behavior didn’t happen out of thin air. This maybe was the first time, however, they showed their true nature in a public forum.
Gus may not need us to come to his defense, but Jacobson and Proft need to go to Amazon and buy some class.
— Margaret Cassidy, Franklin Park
Intent of mockery
Regarding Rick Wagner’s Sept. 1 letter “Jacobson unfairly reviled”: Silently thinking someone’s behavior is “over the top” and publicly mocking that person’s behavior are not equivalent. Mockery always has malicious intent.
— Jerry Kaplan, Chiang Mai, Thailand
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