Readers react to Donald Trump, the Islamic State and higher education
Bombastic Trump
On a recent afternoon, I was looking at programs of world leaders and how they came to power. Adolf Hitler was one of them.
He was bombastic and loud. He targeted a certain people.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is not Hitler. But Mr. Trump is loud and bombastic.
He targets certain groups of people, and some people are latching on just as those in Germany latched on to the loudest man needing no polls and leading his country to ruin with his very loud mouth and in being himself for his own reasons.
The Germans were then in dire straits, which many people in this country might think we are now in because of the sorry state of affairs in Washington, D.C.
Think about it.
James M. Kilpatrick
Kansas City
Islamic State rise
The Status of Forces agreement that President George W. Bush signed to end the combat roles of the American military in Iraq was created because Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki refused to waive immunity for any Americans serving in Iraq.
When President Barack Obama tried to renegotiate the same agreement before removing American combat forces, al-Maliki, strongly influenced by Iran, again refused to waive immunity for American service personnel who allegedly committed crimes in Iraq.
GOP politicians criticize Obama but ignore the fact that al-Maliki was committed to American troops leaving Iraq.
The Islamic State was, as Obama said, a junior-varsity team until a battle was waged for Mosul. Thirty thousand Iraqi troops removed their uniforms, threw down their weapons and gave the Islamic State access to modern military hardware and tons of money. That’s how the Islamic State military was really created.
Martin Kaynan
Olathe
College education
When college came calling for my children, I encouraged them to eschew the safety and comfort of their private secondary school. My reasoning was simple.
It was time to branch out and see, meet and interact with students and instructors from all over the globe. And the best place to do that was at a challenging public university environment. (It was also easier on Dad’s wallet.)
Isn’t that the goal of higher education? A college campus by definition is a living, growing laboratory. It is the best place to learn and prepare for life’s trials, tribulations, joys and sorrows. And to realize the opportunities that lie ahead.
The campus laboratory is the best platform for discussions about race, religion and culture.
But today it is as if that campus laboratory were closed for remodeling.
The dynamic, dialectic process of open communication it spawns is under fire. It has been hijacked without a struggle.
People with nefarious agendas seek to limit its transformative power.
Where are the champions of free speech?
We need them to come back. Tomorrow is too late.
Richard F. Thomas Jr.
Kansas City
Reagan wannabes
So many of today’s GOP presidential hopefuls vow to be just like President Ronald Reagan. But the only part they mention about Mr. Reagan is the massive tax break called the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981.
They don’t talk about the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, which some people call the largest tax increase in modern history. Reagan also raised taxes in 1983 and 1986.
Today’s Republican presidential candidates also never mention the fact that Reagan nearly tripled the national debt from about $1 trillion to $2.9 trillion. Also in today’s GOP, Reagan would have been considered an outcast because he gave amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants.
So if this is the guy they all want to emulate, then maybe they should talk about all of President Reagan’s history and not just pick out one part that they consider to be good.
Dennis Parker
Lee’s Summit
Shared diversity?
The Star in a Jan. 22 editorial advocates that the “Oscars should reflect America’s diversity.”
Oscars are awarded according to performance in movies. I was wondering whether The Star would likewise advocate that sports teams reflect America’s diversity, even though athletes should be selected according to ability on the athletic field.
David Blasiar
Overland Park
This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Readers react to Donald Trump, the Islamic State and higher education."