Readers Write: Pride flags in schools, the economy and the planet, leadership, Garrison Keillor

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

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Sunday’s article “Schools grapple with opposition to signs of diversity” makes it clear: The Christian right has successfully framed the issue, asserting that signs of support for queer students is political. At heart, however, the display of Pride flags is neither political nor indoctrinating. Just because a small faction of religious folks find it in their hearts and faith to deny the equality of, if not the existence of, queer youth is no reason to remove flags from any school space. Leaders must not allow religious radicals to impose their religious narrative on civic institutions. That would be a betrayal of all students.

The truth is that queer students are widely made to feel invisible, unsafe and unwanted in schools. Fellow students, teachers and administrators target these youth with violence and harassment. When queer youth seek help, they are often met with indifference from the very people who are responsible for protecting them. Because of a hostile school climate, queer youth perform lower in academics, commit suicide more frequently, miss class and drop out of school far more often than their straight peers. Yes, even today. See GLSEN’s 2021 report on school climate if you need statistics.

As a teacher of 35 years, I know the positive effects a Pride flag can have on my students. Signaling to students that “we see you all, we are here for you all, and we value you all” cannot be wrong. It is the right and necessary thing for schools to do. For queer youth, it is also the minimum.

Thomas E. Carlson, Minneapolis

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There is an old legal maxim “inclusio unius est exclusio alterius,” which means the inclusion of one is the exclusion of the other. This precept is so common in our lives we don’t think about it. The most common example I can think of is the designation of sexes in public restrooms. Those rooms are usually clearly labeled with one being for, say, women. Everybody understands that women are included as those invited into the room while men are excluded from entering the room. There are many common examples.

The slogan “Black Lives Matter” (inclusion) meant for many, “Other lives don’t matter” (exclusion). Hillary Clinton was criticized when she said, “All lives matter.” Flags are powerful instruments for dividing people. Many new housing developments ban the use of flags, any flags, because of the danger of alienating people. Consider the effect of a Confederate battle flag in a new suburban development! Or think about MAGA hats! Not much doubt about who is included and excluded.

Schools particularly should take care not to elevate some over others with the result that some feel excluded. That would reduce the parental complaints.

John D. Sens, Savage

Evan Ramstad’s column and insight offers important perspective to our dynamic regional economy in which this newspaper plays a very important role. One of Ramstad’s recent Sunday columns, “Human progress is not the enemy of the planet,” was particularly insightful about where we are in the postindustrial age of the 21st century.

The balance we now seek of sustainability and a health economy comes after a wake-up call about climate change and increasing weather extremes. It took that for us to realize we now live in a human-induced atmosphere. In other words, we have soiled our own planet while exploiting its vast resources.

Fortunately we passed a Clean Air Act and a Clean Water Act, established the Environmental Protection Agency and took other governmental action to reverse the destructive trend we were on. Vehicle mileage standards are another example. The Paris Agreement and lower carbon dioxide level goals by 2030 and 2050 are international examples.

I farmed for 50 years in North Dakota. My son now farms there with a much greater sense of sustainability. He says that we mined the soil for 100 years after the Homestead Act really launched farming on the Great Plains. We forced Indigenous people onto reservations so we could farm their land.

My son has been no-till farming for 30 years and I am amazed at how it has built humus and organic matter in the topsoil. His goal is to improve water infiltration to absorb two to three inches of rain without runoff. Imagine what this would do for water quality in the Minnesota, Missouri, Red, James, Root, Sauk and other rivers.

Historians say we are a crisis-oriented society. A look at the last hundred years suggests that is true. We don’t act or enact change until it stares us in the face! It took the Dust Bowl to get us to realize we need to farm the land differently. But as Ramstad pointed out, that is also true for how we live in the cities, drive our cars or heat and cool our homes. It took a crisis to get us to change our habits.

Thank you for a thought-provoking article. That is a role newspapers should play in our community.

Myron Just, Minneapolis

The writer is retired as a farmer, legislator and state official in North Dakota.

Steven Schier’s commentary “Looking for good American leadership?” (Opinion Exchange, July 14) drew me in, rallying readers’ attention to four different leaders who have tried to move us away from the extreme MAGA and woke choices that dominate the news cycle (by listing two Democrats and two Republicans).

1) U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips. I 101% agree.

2) Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman. Check.

3) Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Let’s tap the brakes here, after her capitulation to Donald Trump on the prime-time stage of the Republican National Convention the other evening. She didn’t bow low and “kiss the ring” as so many have done before her, but in my opinion her vacillation disqualified her from this provocative list.

4) Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. Sorry, you lost me here.

McConnell deserves no praise nor accolades as an American leader. I consider his brand of “leadership” as the Senate majority leader the root cause of our current political mess, as evidenced by McConnell’s insistence on kicking the can of accountability down the road when faced with the Senate consideration of Donald Trump’s two impeachments (by essentially saying, “We don’t have to decide this; the courts will”) and his conniving bastardization of process and embrace of the double-standard, resulting in three Trump Supreme Court appointments. McConnell’s lack of leadership in one sense and duplicitous leadership in another has brought us to the very ugly American moment where we find ourselves: the abdication of the Republican Party to the whims of a would-be autocrat, and a Supreme Court lacking balance and integrity that is paving the way for the transformation of American democracy to the autocracy the autocrat craves.

Brad Pepin, Edina

Regarding the story and review of the Garrison Keillor performance, there is a glaring omission (”Garrison celebrates 50th with aplomb,” July 14). What is referred to as his “retirement” had more to it. As uncomfortable as it is for the Keillor adoring masses who long to be entertained and feel comforted by nostalgia, an investigation (by MPR, who had an invested interest in Keillor’s innocence) revealed allegations of dozens of sexually inappropriate incidents with the accuser, including (the words of the report from MPR) “unwanted sexual touching.” She was not the only female employee who had such complaints.

I know the Star Tribune reporter is simply interested in the entertainment aspect, and that the paper has no bones about publishing a “welcome back” ad from the Fitzgerald Theater, but it would be nice if reality was included somewhere in the text. It dismisses the victims in favor of some sort of local hero adoration.

Andy Waltzer, Minneapolis