Letters: Readers discuss Congress’ self-investigation, Missouri Compromise and KCPD
Who should look?
It seems strange and somehow counterproductive for Congress to ask people who were likely involved in the attack on the United States government in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to help investigate this criminal act.
Evidently, there are those in our nation who want to live under a dictatorship. It’s a shame, really. We, as a nation, almost made it to the 250-year mark.
- Richard Clyde Lumpkin, Prairie Village
Strange history
In his May 19 letter to the Secretary of Education criticizing the 1619 Project and critical race theory, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt claims, “American history reflects a progression in which her founding ideals ultimately triumph over weaknesses and failures of her people.”
This year, Missouri is celebrating its 200th anniversary of statehood. It would benefit us all, especially teachers, administrators and school boards, for Schmitt to provide guidance on how to teach this key event in Missouri’s history.
Was the Missouri Compromise, which allowed Missouri to enter the union as a slave state, an example of that progression of our founding ideals, or was it a step backward?
Was Congress’ nullifying a provision in the state constitution — it required the exclusion of “free negroes and mulattoes” — before Missouri became a state progress or federal overreach on an issue that a state should decide?
Was the Missouri Compromise, because the status of slavery could never be “compromised,” one of the early events that would lead to the Civil War?
We should all look forward to Schmitt’s recommendations on these questions so schools do not teach a “flawed, harmful and divisive” history of Missouri.
- Bob Yates, Kansas City
Housing is security
Thank you to The Star for hosting the May 26 “Seeking Solutions” online discussion about housing and crime in Kansas City. (May 23, 1A, “Housing problems fuel gun violence”)
For far too long, lawmakers have ignored America’s affordable housing crisis. Instead of investing resources to help families afford decent housing, they’ve blamed the victims and focused on punitive measures like more police.
They don’t get it. Housing is more than a physical structure. It’s a mindset. When you have stable housing, you have hope. Study after study shows that people in stable housing are healthier and more productive. Their kids do better in school and are less likely to get into trouble.
President Joe Biden wants to invest $318 billion to create more safe, affordable housing across the country. This is an excellent start, but it won’t work if people can’t afford it. Any new effort to increase the housing supply must be paired with more assistance to help people pay the rent.
I urge Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, and Sens. Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley to expand rental assistance to all eligible renters in economic recovery legislation this year.
If we want to make our community safer, we need more housing. We need more hope.
- Jos Linn, Kansas City
Give us control
What a perfect way to memorialize the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death by taking the long-overdue steps to make our police department accountable to the people of Kansas City.
Creating a new community services budget to address crime prevention, intervention, mental health services and other alternative strategies to addressing violent crime is exactly what countless citizen groups, neighborhood associations and youthful protesters have been advocating for this past year. Mayor Quinton Lucas is to be commended for his leadership and thinking outside the box.
Since the Missouri General Assembly controls our police board and has no problem passing legislation that sets precedent over virtually all aspects of community life around the state, time was of the essence. In the final days of the session, Parkville-based state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer sponsored a bill that would allow Kansas City police personnel to live outside the city limits, a clear slap to Lucas and the residents of Kansas City.
It’s difficult to know the rationale for interfering in the internal workings of our police department. If this isn’t a clear example of why we need control of our own police board, I am at a loss for what is.
- Pat Bartholome, Kansas City
Selfish on vaccines
This country should hang its collective head in shame. How did we get to this point of entitlement? Why should we find it necessary to entice anyone to receive a vaccine that has been proved to be safe and to save lives? Not only is the vaccine free, but we offer free rides to vaccine sites.
The decision to receive the vaccine based on the monetary benefit to be gained is deplorable. How dare we show such arrogance in the face of this global health emergency, when other countries are desperate for this vaccine?
Money we’re paying people to get the shots would be better spent shipping vaccine to countries where the populations would be grateful to receive protection from this virus and to be part of the effort to stop this horrid scourge.
“We are all in this together” does not ring as true when dollar signs cloud the image of solidarity. We are better than this.
- Mary Lou Schroeder, Overland Park
As we thought
As expected, the Republicans didn’t disappoint. Most of them voted against a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection encouraged and instigated by Donald Trump. (May 29, 1A, “GOP senators block Jan. 6 riot probe”) The rioters were headhunting for members of Congress and wanting to hang Vice President Mike Pence as they rampaged through the Capitol, and now some GOP officials doesn’t want to know who was trying to kill them and why — for fear it would affect their prospects of gaining control of the House in 2022.
This is so shallow and hypocritical, especially when the Republicans spent 17 months investigating Benghazi, trying to pin the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens on Hillary Clinton.
So much for the search for truth. When an atrocity like this happens again — and it will — what would happen if the Capitol Police should let the insurrectionists get to those who did a “personal favor” for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, including himself, rather than honor their oath to the Constitution?
Favoring party over country is so disappointing, yet so Republican now that Trump is in control of the party.
- Robert Miller, Overland Park
This story was originally published May 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Congress’ self-investigation, Missouri Compromise and KCPD."