LETTERS: Decision is up to each individual; littering used to be against the law – Colorado Springs Gazette

Decision is up to each individual

President Joe Bidens comments about the announcements from the Texas and Mississippi governors to lift face mask mandates in their states, says so much about how the Democratic party views the ability of the individual citizen to make decisions on their own.

Neither state is prohibiting the wearing of face masks, Rather, they are leaving that decision up to each individual. It will now be up to each individual in these states to decide to wear or not to wear a face masks or whether the owner of a business will allow customers in who are not wearing a mask.

The presidents labeling these decisions as neanderthal shows that the Democratic Party does not believe that the individual can make these decisions on their own. Where is our government of the people, by the people and for the people?. It is now a concept that seems to have escaped from the Democratic Party.

Robert Lee

Colorado Springs

I would like to know when it became okay to use the streets of Colorado Springs as garbage cans! Why is it that people cannot be responsible and keep their fast food bags, cups, lids, straws, bottles, and whatever other trash they accumulate, in their vehicles until they are near a trash can? This is not a difficult task to accomplish!

When I go for walks in my neighborhood, I carry several plastic shopping bags. They are all filled within 3 blocks of my home. During the nice weather, I fill these bags daily.

Littering used to be against the law! I guess that no longer applies. I urge everyone to take a few minutes out of their day to at least pick up the trash that fellow citizens have deposited on the streets in front of your homes. I realize you did not put it there, and should not have to pick up the trash of irresponsible people, but just think of the positive impact it would have on our city.

There are many volunteer groups that get together to pick up trash along creek beds parks, highways, and numerous other locations, but rarely are these groups in neighborhoods. We should all take pride in our city and clean it up.

Theresa Brown

Colorado Springs

As a recently retired elementary teacher and grandparent of two literacy-loving young boys, heres my take on the Dr. Seuss issue:

Theyre wrong all night,

Theyre wrong all day.

And I just dont care

What they say!

I wont stop reading Dr. Seuss.

I wont! I wont!

I just refuse!

Those books arent racist!

No, theyre not!

Theyre just old (1930s) differences

That can be taught.

Now, move along,

Dust off those books.

Hurry! Hurry!

Before theyre burned!

Another generation,

While drinking their juice,

Await the imagination

Of dear Dr. Seuss.

Dedra Montoya

Colorado Springs

I just received my second COVID-19 shot today. At the clinic I asked the staff a simple question; after 14 days from my second shot, am I protected (94%) from contracting the virus? The answer I got was very instructive. I was told that the Moderna COVID shot(s) that I received, did not protect me from contracting COVID-19 or transmitting it to someone else, but rather it will significantly mitigate my symptoms and reduces the severity of my illness. Being over 70 this is a very good thing.

I believe there is a significant percentage of our population that believes that after being vaccinated they are protected from contracting the virus and thus can not pass it on. It seems that the Colorado Department of Health as well as the CDC should clarify this important distinction. This would make it clear why wearing masks and social distancing is still important. I am also curious about how herd immunity works. If the vaccine does not reduce the likelihood of contracting the virus and thus infecting others how have we helped to establish herd immunity? It seems to me that the same number of people will test positive for the virus as before the vaccine was available. It seems that this is why the CDC guidance for the schools to open makes so much since. Admittedly my thinking could be entirely wrong. I would urge The Gazette to write an article in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Health that very clearly states the true facts. This article could go a long way toward settling the mask conflict.

John C. Hoelscher

Woodland Park

Minimum wage: Not a problem, unless youre trying to live on it.

I support a living wage as a human right. How can we ethically ask people to work for less than they can live on? We never ratified human rights in this country, I know, so Ill keep this short. Since that question has been sidelined, lets follow the money. Why arent we arguing over the maximum wage? Dont be distracted by the crumbs that fall from the table. The United States topped the list in 2018 for the country with the highest gap between CEO and worker pay. In that year, for every U.S. dollar an average worker received, the average CEO earned 265 U.S. dollars. (Staistica Research Department, Nov./2020) And that is an average, masking the most egregious disparities.

Mike Rosen wrote in an op-ed (Feb. 17, 2021), the pay of an individual worker is a function of his or her merit and performance, not need. I wonder how you calculate the CEOs performance as being 265 times more valuable than the essential workers? Under slavery, the humanity of the labor force was reduced; a slave being worth 3/5 of a human(slave owner), which justified the skewing of gains away from labor. But today, in our competitive market economy, isnt it time to name greed for what it is and set some limits on what the boss takes home? And just maybe, as we do that, we can move closer to a living wage for the most undervalued.

Pastor Paula Stecker

Colorado Springs

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LETTERS: Decision is up to each individual; littering used to be against the law - Colorado Springs Gazette