Letters: KC readers discuss drug overdoses, Vietnam’s lessons, Kansas redistricting
Where it goes
Sports belong in the sports section, not in the front section.
- Bill Baker, Lenexa
Get them help
Aug. 31 is International Drug Overdose Awareness Day. I encourage everyone to light a candle for those lost through an accidental overdose. More than 93,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2020, which is an unbelievable increase of almost 30% over 2019.
Here is some highlights from a recent NPR report:
“This is the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period, and the largest increase since 1999,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Overdoses killed about one-quarter as many people as COVID-19 last year, and it’s possible they could soon overtake the coronavirus death rate.
We are in a drug crisis and we need to get the word out. It is time we stop being embarrassed and start educating ourselves about what is happening. Right now, deadly fentanyl is found in many illicit opioids. We need to make sure our first responders are equipped with naxalone, the opioid overdose antidote sold under the brand name Narcan, so they have a better chance of saving lives.
- Susan Chvala, Lee’s Summit
No surprise
This is a question for our military leaders and political leaders who seem so surprised that the Taliban took over the cities of Afghanistan so quickly after the American troops started pulling out: Where were you when U.S. troops pulled out of Vietnam?
North Vietnam’s army had control of Saigon before the last U.S. transport plane left Vietnam. I was stationed just outside of Saigon on Jan. 30, 1968, when the Tet Offensive started. I know how poorly the South Vietnamese army responded.
We spent 10-plus years trying to “train” South Vietnam’s army and it didn’t work. Now we have just spent 20 years trying to “train” the Afghan army and it didn’t work. Why did we think it would?
Why didn’t we get the Americans out of Afghanistan before we pulled the troops out? It seems like that would have made much more sense.
- Denney French, Smithville
No lessons
A “we, the people” tsunami in Missouri? Maybe!
Thank you for publishing Lucus Kunce’s revelation about his experiences in Afghanistan. (Aug. 24, 7A, “Two-sentence Afghan truth”) I was present during the Vietnam era, with the government doublespeak corruption going full blast. I worked to expose corruption in the draft board. The American citizenry was exposed to inflated body counts and our supposed “peace” mission achievements in Southeast Asia, buttressed with false data.
Look at the history of Vietnam and ask if anyone could turn that around. The military had new toys to field. The rest is history.
There is one truth: Governments cannot learn. Governments know only to react to pressures brought to bear on their conduct to stay in office. We, the people, are supposed to be the moderating force in our governance.
Remember what Pogo said: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” We support ignorance in our educational system in an effort to produce minds that do not question. Every now and then, one slips through.
Thank you, Lucas Kunce. Thinking it is easy. Saying it out loud is the hard part.
- Ron Dix, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Not really a game
Friday nights are synonymous with high school football games, marching bands and communities coming together to support their teams. Sadly, on Fridays while we are cheering for our kids, elected officials are releasing important information on the “down low.”
Why such subterfuge? Members of the Kansas House and Senate redistricting committees were asked that question multiple times during their recent whirlwind redistricting listening tour. They were also asked: Why the short notice for hearings? Why not wait for the census numbers? Where are the unbiased districting guidelines?
Did the 14 sessions move fair redistricting closer to the 10-yard line of reality? Or was this a bluff? Will those who participated in the hearings think “game over” and move to the sidelines?
Let’s be clear: Voters, not legislators, must determine how we will be represented in Congress, the House and the Senate, and how funds for schools and public health will be allocated. Nobody knows the needs of a community better than the people who live there.
Redistricting is one of the most important actions to be undertaken for the next decade. The hearings were simply our citizen training camps to learn the legislative plays. Let’s blow the whistle on gerrymandering.
- Janet Milkovich, Overland Park
Who’s cheated?
Mail-in ballots offer many advantages and should become a permanent option. Voters enjoy ample time to research candidates and proposals, from the comfort and privacy of their home, before completing and submitting the final document. However, some Missouri legislators object to mail-in voting, claiming it creates too many opportunities for cheating.
It is important to keep in mind that Missouri, like most states, awards its Electoral College votes in a “winner take all” system. For instance, Donald Trump received 1,718,736 votes, or 56.8%, while Joe Biden received 1,253,014 votes, or 41.4%. All 10 Electoral College votes went to Trump, meaning more than 1 million Biden supporters received nothing for their efforts. This dwarfs the few votes that might allegedly be cast illegally in a mail-in system.
- Kenneth A. Lee, Raytown
This story was originally published August 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: KC readers discuss drug overdoses, Vietnam’s lessons, Kansas redistricting."