Letters: Readers discuss Roy Blunt’s NAFTA position, gun control and the Electoral College

Thanks, Roy Blunt

I have been honored and privileged to be a part of the agriculture community my entire life. One certainty in farming is that nothing is certain. Even so, there has been more certainty for a stable market for agriculture commodities since the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

NAFTA is being renegotiated, with discussions regarding updates to modernize the agreement with Canada and Mexico.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt and discussed my concerns about the future of NAFTA. He fully understands that the United States, and specifically the agriculture industry, have been benefiting from the free trade of goods across national borders.

Missouri is a top-10 producer of multiple agriculture commodities, including soybeans, corn, pork, soybean meal, feeds and other grains, to mention a few. Total 2016 exports from Missouri’s agriculture sector were valued at more than $3.6 million — more than half of which were sold to Mexico without tariffs.

Political leaders have been working hard to educate key decision makers about the importance of NAFTA to the agriculture industry. The agreement needs to be updated to meet the needs of today’s market, but its existence is vital to Missouri agriculture.

Andrea Rice

Salisbury, Mo.

Scratch my back …

It’s abundantly clear that the president of the United States and his staff of cronies aided Vladimir Putin in winning the Russian presidential election. Close, too.

Tom Karczewski

Kansas City

Follow kids’ lead

One of seven retired fellow doctors having breakfast earlier this week asked a question: If you wrote to your member of Congress to suggest one thing that could be changed to make the federal government align more with your concept of a good government, what would it be?

Getting our dysfunctional incumbents to act seems like a waste of time and postage. Rather, we should each vow to follow the lead of the high school students in Florida.

Those who were the targets of an unstable shooter with an assault rifle reacted by making a contract for their parents to sign stating that the parent would agree not to vote for any politician who supports the National Rifle Association position that we are — any of us — a “well regulated militia.”

I suggest that every voter who is sick of the repeated mass shootings should vow to oppose any candidate who accepts contributions from the NRA. I further suggest that we not patronize any business that sells assault rifles or ammunition.

We can’t collect all the AR-15s out there, but we can make them less accessible and effective.

When you vote next, remember Parkland, Fla.

And a child shall lead them.

Keith W. Ashcraft

Leawood

Two systems

In recent letters to the editor, there seems to be confusion that the forms of government known as democracies and republics are the same. Not so.

These concepts were first written about by Greek philosophers. A democracy is where all the people vote for laws, as was used in New England towns and villages in the early days of our country.

In a republic, which our Constitution established, laws are passed by representatives, who are elected by citizens, and senators, who at first were elected by the state legislatures.

The Electoral College followed the same formula: The president is elected not by the people, but by wise and knowledgeable electors.

These systems were thought necessary, because there were few newspapers and few early Americans could read anyway. The founders thought we needed rule-wise men to avoid mob rule and ill-advised laws that could easily destroy their carefully designed system of checks and balances.

The representative republic system also gave each state two senators to protect the interest of small states.

This same pattern is reflected in the Electoral College.

Civics class, anyone?

Walt Vernon

Prairie Village

A modest proposal

To solve the Kansas school funding problem, the state should allow Johnson County to secede. Residents of that prosperous county could then provide the excellent education they can afford to their children.

The rest of Kansans can do what they have done for centuries: Put the kids in the fields as soon as they can handle a hoe or lift a bale of hay.

Where did this idea of equality come from?

John Chapman

Gladstone

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Roy Blunt’s NAFTA position, gun control and the Electoral College."