Readers Write: Political differences, Minnesota drivers

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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Since early in the pandemic, I have been posting a positive image on social media as a kind of daily day-brightener for me and my friends. A couple of weeks ago, distressed by the deepening political divide between Americans, I devoted a week to photos of bridges. Anyone who follows the news or reads the Minnesota Star Tribune opinion pages knows that a deepening political chasm separates Americans with starkly different political views.

Chasms divide. Bridges connect. They make it possible for people to visit the other side, where they can see what life is like and maybe better understand why people on the other side think like they think and do what they do.

As a Feb. 15 letter writer noted, most Americans agree about the challenges we face, but most of the discussion in Washington and on social media is dominated by people seemingly intent on deepening the chasm. Dare I say, people who are more interested in blaming the other side for political gain than in actually working together to solve problems. Do I think that one side is more to blame than the other? Yes, but both sides share in guilt.

We need more bridges to bring sensible people from the left bank and right bank together so that they can fashion solutions that most Americans — perhaps 70% — can live with. Let the ideologues pull to the right and left as hard or as far as they want — if the world were flat, they might fall off the edge. The extremes on both sides are so certain that they are right (correct), that it should be painfully obvious that each is as likely wrong as right.

We desperately need bridges that bring people together. Can you imagine how attractive a moderate, common-sense political party might be to voters? Perhaps a Bridge United Party? I fear that without a moderate option the chasm will only deepen to the point of separation.

J Fonkert, Roseville

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I am 75, lived most of my life in Michigan, and moved to Minnesota to be near one of our sons. Like most divided families in America, we haven’t talked about politics since 2016. My recent experiences with immigrants caused me to rethink that position. I developed prostate cancer in 2014. With treatment, I’ve had many years of my good life, then it moved to my liver, and now to my brain.

I was recently in St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood. My care was outstanding. My team consisted of six doctors, five nurses, multiple specialists and aides. About 70% were first- or second-generation immigrants. My care team hailed from Mexico, Guatemala, Nova Scotia, Eritria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Somalia, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Australia. They fed me, drew blood, bathed me, changed my sheets, cheered me up on down days and went far above minimum-care standards.

Donald Trump uses inaccurate, racist, and inhumane language to discuss immigrants. It’s clear that his intention is to gut immigration laws and to deny our history as a nation of immigrants. According to multiple sources, immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in taxes in 2022. Like most of our ancestors, immigrants want to work hard, strive to improve their family’s quality of life, and contribute to the common good of the country. Most immigrants are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers who want the same thing as any other human being: food, shelter, connection and purpose.

Patrick Timmons, St. Paul

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Let me start off by saying I’m not a Trumper — I voted for Joe Biden in 2020. I voted for Trump in 2024 because I believe the Democrats’ policies are ruining our country, but that’s a much larger discussion that could take paragraphs to debate and end with no conclusive outcome. My reason for writing is I am so tired of reading about all the potential negative consequences of Trump’s policies. And they are all someone’s guess because, at this point, no one really knows what the effects of his policies involving immigration, DEI, federal government cuts or the 50 other things he is moving forward at a fast-paced clip will really have on our country.

But all the Star Tribune and the media ever present is the potential negative consequences. Nowhere have I read in any media report, “Here are likely positive outcomes!” The media hates Trump, and I get he’s caused most of that, but the days of presenting both sides of the news are gone. The days of independent reporting without taking sides are a thing of the past. The news media, including our beloved Star Tribune, has become another source of reporting filled with individuals' opinions and, in many cases, liberal “sky is always falling” spins to sell subscriptions and influence people.

I, for one, miss the old days of presenting facts with both sides of the debate or story and the potential positive and negative outcomes. Today every report contains the negative impact, especially when it comes to Trump. Nowhere do we ever read the benefits of what tariffs could bring, or that closing our borders could save the U.S. X number of dollars, or when we get back to hiring the best candidate for the job regardless of race, color or age, what that positive impact might look like. Nope, all we read is “The sky is falling!” Truly a sad situation for so many reasons.

Steve Wexler, Plymouth

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I just read Ka Vang’s Feb. 20 article “What ‘justice’ apparently means in America these days.” In my opinion, this is one of the best articles about diversity, equity and inclusion I have ever read. Although my politics are independent-right and I often agree with the more conservative opinions in your paper, Vang’s article was right-on. It was excellently written and very educational for me. It opened my mind to re-examine the entire issue of DEI. Keep up the excellent work, Ka.

Ed Tischleder, Bloomington

Dear drivers in the west metro,

My driving seems to be making you grumpy and impatient. I can tell because I see your face in my rearview mirror as you tailgate me. My intention is not to make you late for work or your dental appointment, but there is a reason:

According to the U.S. Census, I am one of approximately 1 million baby boomers between the ages of about 60-79 driving around Minnesota. We’re not “old,” it’s just that our eyesight is changing and our hearing is ruined from listening to Led Zeppelin at 90 decibels over long periods of time. And, I hate to admit it, but we’re not quite as sharp as we thought we were in our 20s and 30s. As a result, our response time has slowed somewhat.

This is why I stay in the right lane and nervously watch as you speed by me in the snow and ice, without considering the laws of physics and how they apply to everyone — even you.

So, give us boomers a break ... your turn is coming. In the meantime, as my favorite bumper sticker reads, “I apologize for driving so close in front of you.”

Shelley Klaessy, Minnetonka

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People routinely take photos of themselves and post them on Facebook, Instagram and other social media. When shopping in stores there are security cameras. The ACLU has raised concern about the traffic cameras that have recently been deployed on Hwy. 7, which are to detect distracted driving. Why do you object? If you are following the law, why do you care? You are already on camera through so many other actions, including your own.

Karen Rathke, Medina