Readers react to the Royals, big crowds and government cuts

Champion Royals

Sports are a welcome diversion from our daily grind. Still, we all yearn for that magical moment when our team provides a transcendent experience that takes us beyond the limits of sports. And then the 2015 Kansas City Royals happened.

We applaud the long game while drawn to the allure of the quick fix. Our country was built on diversity, but we sometimes behave in ways that are insular and provincial.

We are all in this life together. Yet, we mostly reward individual achievement. Sometimes we are too quick to abandon our game plan and our values in the face of fear and adversity.

This team was largely built from a farm system. Latino prospects were added to the mix.

The result was a cohesive group of players who valued not just individual achievement but also the success of the team and had the maturity to stay the course and trust and support each other under the weight of adversity.

Championships happen every year somewhere. It is another thing to show the world the heart and soul of a true champion.

Frank Ross

Topeka

Vision of the past

I am proud of our Kansas City Royals and our city. The last time I saw a Kansas City crowd like the one at the parade for the Royals I was 6 years old.

It was two days, I believe, after V-J Day and the end of World War II. My grandfather picked up my mom, my sister and me and drove us early in the morning to the north wall of the Liberty Memorial, which overlooks Union Station.

I will never forget that day. People were standing on every spot of level ground as far as the eye could see. That, and a deep blue sky darkened by military aircraft flying overhead the whole day.

Good job Kansas City — then and now.

Col. (Ret.) John C.

Morrissey

Lee’s Summit

Government cuts

I keep hearing how Republicans want a smaller government that stays out of people’s business. Smaller government? Smaller how?

Who’s going to hire all those workers the government just fired?

Smaller where? Well over half of government spending is on the armed forces. Are we cutting that spending, too?

Whose jobs are you going to cut?

You can’t eat your cake and have it, too. If you think big government is inefficient, let’s go ask the guys at Enron or AIG or General Motors.

Erica Simmons

Independence

Defining the GOP

You must be a Republican:

▪ If you are not a scientist when it comes to global warming but suddenly have your science degree when deciding when life begins.

▪ If you want to force women to have children but don’t want to take care of them after birth.

▪ If you oppose same-sex marriage because marriage is sacred but don’t want to answer any questions about marriage on reality TV.

▪ If you want to limit government in people’s lives but want to decide who should marry and who should use birth control.

▪ If you think that a bunch of clowns in one car is going to help you win the White House.

▪ If religion and how horrible Barack Obama is as president are the only platform planks you are running on.

Dan Stiles

Raytown

Sanders, big banks

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders believes if a financial institution is too big too fail, then it is too big to exist. That’s one of his campaign issues, and he wants to introduce legislation to break up the big banks.

Financial institutions created the 2008 recession with their reckless behavior and greed using others’ money to gamble on hedges and similar trading. These bets did nothing to grow America’s economy, only to make internal profits.

When the betting lost money, the institutions looked for federal-insurance support.

Some of this behavior was found to be illegal, but no one was held accountable. Yes, some corporations did pay relatively small fines, but the responsible individuals (who continued to receive obscene bonuses) are still out there — just operating in other venues.

Banking should be about making a reasonable profit by providing affordable loans and services to facilitate a productive economy, not about speculating on exotic transactions with other people’s money for internal profits only.

Kermit Trout

Overland Park

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Readers react to the Royals, big crowds and government cuts."