Letters: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar aren’t Jack Jennedy

Another error?

Many of us wish for another Jack Kennedy, a fresh, young articulate voice that could break through the mishmash of voices of entrenched government operatives who limit progress.

Youth, it seemed, was the elixir for a clean break from the past and a way forward. Bright, educated, well schooled in the history of our country and the entire world, the young war veteran caught our attention, our hearts and our votes.

That the results were less than stellar, leaving the country with an enemy on its borders for more than half a century, is a lesson that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Fast forward to 2019. Cacophony from both the left and right again makes us want a clear, young voice to sort the way through a confused future. Enter Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, both swept into Congress by perhaps an ethnic popularity yearning by our youth. But unlike Kennedy, neither has the experience of a world war, integration into mainstream politics at birth, an Ivy League education or the benefit of a majority philosophy.

Providing these young, wildly popular congresswomen with megaphones and congressional votes may be a mistake of epic proportions. What could go wrong?

Jerry Witherspoon

Blue Springs

Cartoon president

The latest tweets find me as incredulous as I’ve been since the night of Nov. 8, 2016. Jan. 21, 2021, can’t come soon enough. We’ve had presidents who were flawed, but jeez. This draft dodger disparages a dead war hero, and the only pushback is from the hero’s daughter? Where is the outrage about this man’s conduct and character?

Shawn Considine

Independence