Letters: Readers discuss Trump in China, social media’s ill effects and ACT tests

Don’t celebrate yet

Tax cuts for millionaires don’t create jobs. They create billionaires.

Lawmakers hiding behind closed doors to repeal Obamacare don’t diminish the electorate’s desire for universal health care. It enhances it.

And talking tough about China and then kissing up to Chinese President Xi Jinping when face to face is not improving the status of our nation. It simply shows how far we’ve fallen in the past 10 months.

Tuesday’s election should not imply to the Democrats that they have turned the tide. It’s not enough to simply point fingers at the other party. Democrats still need to fashion a governing philosophy and continue to build a coalition that reflects the desires of most Americans.

Skittish Republicans are rethinking their blind allegiance to President Donald Trump. Democrats can’t just oppose. They also need to propose real solutions and continue to build a coalition of Americans whom the Republicans are turning their backs on.

Ronald Curry

Kansas City

A social disease

Social media have fueled the narcissism of dear loved ones. We have become passive-aggressive, curt introverts who have lost the art of connecting with the rest of the human race.

This outlet of communication fuels the egos of those perhaps insecure about conversing with those of the same intellect and legal age.

Vanity? Yes. One’s attributes can be portrayed in attractive ways to anyone looking for anything.

I have lost my brother to this disease. Social media have destroyed my family. I’ve written to Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg — not blaming him, but asking him to assist in reconnecting the human race.

We can no longer converse. We have become individuals jealous of others and depressed about the lives that we have created.

Are we good enough? Will we ever have what they have?

It becomes OK for men to find young girls and connect via the computer because it feels good. No one will know, right?

I have yet to hear from Mr. Zuckerberg, but I will not stop trying until my voice is heard.

We are evolving — understood. We must get back to conversing, to being brave and to being ourselves. We are and will be good enough.

Ann Affolter

Leawood

Stress test

Many students, including myself, get nervous at the thought of a three-hour test, especially ones that can determine the rest of our lives. The ACT piles unnecessary stress on a high school student planning on attending a university.

Is this dreadful test worth all the stress?

Colleges should shift their attention more toward a student’s transcript and activities, instead of a test score that is nothing more than an inadequate number that does not rate the student’s intelligence whatsoever.

Azayla Etienne

Lenexa

Help them rest

Are our kids sleeping enough?

Most metropolitan-area elementary schools start around 8:30 a.m. Once kids reach the seventh grade, it starts at 7:30, and then gets increasingly earlier.

As a mom, I know teens are different creatures. It’s tons easier getting a 7-year-old out of bed than a moody 17-year-old.

As a pediatric nurse practitioner, I have studied the science surrounding this. Our teen night owls naturally have different sleeping patterns. They also still require eight to 10 hours of sleep a night.

Getting a few more minutes of sleep in the morning is very beneficial. Without it, they may still be in a sleep pattern when they arrive to school, which makes it more difficult to focus and learn.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that start times be after 8:30 a.m. for teens. This allows students to get on average 35 more minutes of sleep. Studies have shown that attendance has improved with later start times as well.

Talk to your local school board about possible changes in school start times. Let’s give our kids a chance to rest longer so their minds can be healthier and clearer. Then, we as parents can rest easier.

Mari Hanson

Buckner

This story was originally published November 11, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Trump in China, social media’s ill effects and ACT tests."