America needs more civics classes
We need more civics, history and government classes in our schools. When you compare the annual federal budgets for education, as a nation, for every $50 we spend on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), we spend 5 cents on civics. After years of neglect, investment in the democratic function of our education system is more desperately needed than ever.
In a 2021 CBS News poll, 40% of Democrats and more than half of all Republicans surveyed defined the other party as “enemies” rather than “political opponents,” Most Americans identify other Americans as the greatest national threat. As a general public, we volunteer less than we used to, are less likely to talk to our neighbors and have less trust in and knowledge about our government and institutions. Research shows that students with access to civics engage in more of all the pro-social, pro-community actions than those without it.
We are lucky that here in West Virginia’s current 1st Congressional District, we are represented by three officials, two Republicans and one Democrat, with proven track records of working across party lines when common sense and duty dictate it.
Congress is considering a bipartisan bill, the Civics Secures Democracy Act (CSD), that would invest in schools, teachers and students supporting the next generation with the skills to be more informed and effective citizens in our democracy.
Our democracy is worth preserving. We are not each other’s enemies, and investment in history and civics education is the type of hopeful action that moves our country forward. If you want to learn more about civics and history legislation and how you can be supportive, you can find that information at civxnow.org/federal.
Ace Parsi
Morgantown
Not everyone is lucky enough to avoid loans
The beginning of WVU’s commencement weekend provided Hoppy Kercheval an occasion to go on a rant about the current level of student loan debt and possible debt forgiveness.
Three of his points deserve comment.
To the man expressing outrage that — while his family made financial sacrifices so they could pay for their children’s college educations — others apparently not so provident might avoid fiscal responsibility, I would say, “How fortunate you were to be in a position where you could set aside money for college and were not living paycheck to paycheck, working multiple jobs to keep a roof over your head and food on the table.” Many in such desperate circumstances aspire for their children to go to college so that they can have a better, more financially stable life.
Second, Kercheval implies that those who are in debt failed to seek scholarships, grants and did not work during college the way “millions of Americans have managed to get a degree.” Prove it. Many scholarships and grant programs cover only a portion of the costs of higher education. Jobs may only provide some additional resources to pay for college. Loans have to cover the rest.
Finally, $1.7 trillion is a lot of money. How did we come to this state of affairs? Since the early 1980s, state legislatures increasingly reduced the amount appropriated for higher education, West Virginia included. Costs of higher education continued to rise. Where were prospective students to go to find resources but student loan programs? I bet that if somebody totaled up those reductions, over 40 years, they might come pretty close to $1.7 trillion.
Christopher Wilkinson
Morgantown
WVFL vows to protect life at state level
West Virginians for Life (WVFL) joins with those who recognize the leak of the Supreme Court Opinion overruling Roe v. Wade as one of the greatest scandals to ever affect the nation’s highest court.
The draft opinion was written in February by Justice Samuel Alito and states: “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” WVFL agrees with this determination, which means the people may have the opportunity to decide this issue in the future through their elected representatives.
The editorial of May 13 misrepresents this issue to the public. The Supreme Court decision will not make abortion illegal. The state legislatures will be given back the power to decide on protecting the lives of unborn children. There are many different ideas about this issue, and each state will come up with different solutions. That’s because, even after nearly 50 years under Roe, abortion continues to be a divisive issue that continues to divide the country.
The editorial suggests that other “rights” will be in jeopardy if Roe falls. However, there is absolutely no evidence that the American public is calling for changing laws governing contraception, interracial marriage or same-sex marriage. None of these issues involve taking the life of a member of the human family. Only abortion kills the developing child in the womb. It is for this reason that the pro-life movement opposes it, and we will work legislatively to protect life if given that opportunity.
Wanda Franz
Morgantown
Kudos to Mon County’s public charter school
I am excited by the future of education for my children and their peers in West Virginia. We’ve come so far in the past two years and made incredible progress in creating educational choices for every child in the state.
Our new local public charter school has a lot of potential. I am so impressed by the passion and efforts of the volunteer board members who have brought their vision to fruition.
Now parents in Monongalia County have two public education options — each unique and with different opportunities for students. Families will be able to choose the educational environment that fits their child best — either the traditional public schools or the nonprofit public charter school — and both will provide student transportation and accountability to parents.
On behalf of my four children, thank you to everyone who has helped create these opportunities.
Thank you to the parents who passionately advocated for their children, to the legislators who made it possible, the professional charter school board, which has helped pave the way, and the schools that are working hard towards their first year of operation.
Katie Switzer
Morgantown
‘Woke’ editorial gets it wrong on ‘minority rule’
The most consistent and predictable aspects of The Dominion Post (aside from the numerous typos) is the editorial.
The editorial always skews toward the most radical, woke progressivist view on every opinion. Take for example, the May 12 editorial “How did Mooney beat McKinley?” In the last paragraph, the editorial opines about how “fewer than 45,000” (Republican primary voters) “chose the person who will more than likely speak for almost 900,000 of us” in the U.S. House. In a final shot, the last line stated, “Talk about minority rule.”
There was no mention that the Democrat candidate received just over 22,000 votes, which is less than half. Talk about minority opinion! Keep it up Dominion Post.
Edward Baker
Morgantown
‘Abortion is a cruel and violent process’
In the May 8 edition of The Dominion Post, the editorial “Pro-life? Get ready to prove it” was appalling. The author laid forth the premise that if abortion is prohibited by the potential reversal of Roe v. Wade, our society better take care of all those unwanted babies.
It was contended that without abortion women will lose education, jobs, money, rights, opportunity, freedom and the pursuit of happiness. So let’s solve the problem by taking the barrier to freedom away and terminate an innocent human life. This is hard for people to hear, but you must call it what it is, abortion is the taking of a human life as a trade for individual freedom, personal enrichment, self-fulfillment or whatever.
Abortion is a cruel and violent process. If one would read the details of the procedure it would make you sick. Only North Korea, China, Canada and the U.S. permit abortions up to full gestation or natural birth, which is infanticide. Even ruthless Russia limits abortion up to the first 12 weeks.
What have we become as a society? Where is our moral compass? About 870,000 pre-born children are killed every year. According to the CDC only 0.5% of abortions are for incest and 0.5% to 1% for rape, according to the Guttmacher Institute. In some states, the murder of a pregnant woman results in a double murder conviction. The unborn life is counted as a person. Unborn human life for our current administration has become disposable, trite and an impediment to freedom.
So if abortion is reduced or eliminated as feared by the political left, what will happen? Yes, there are many ready to prove it through caring individuals, churches and groups. We will step up and care for the children abandoned by those who don’t want them as we always have.
John Martys
Morgantown
GOP hypocrites to blame Biden for gas prices
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has blasted the president for gas prices. How cliché — and hypocritical. What has she or any other GOP senator done to allow the expansion of green alternatives? To find ways to heat and cool with solar energy or wind energy or hydropower? What has Capito done to make electric cars affordable and more efficient with hydrogen batteries, as well as increase access to charging stations for such vehicles?
Much like the 1970s when OPEC had the oil embargo, we are victims of a global energy reliance. Congress refuses to acknowledge that United States’ forced reliance on natural resources has contributed to unchecked gasoline increases.
What did Capito do to West Virginia by being on the “let’s block Build Back Better” bandwagon, when it would have given an industry-lacking state like West Virginia new job opportunities? What will Republicans’ stubbornness do to our tourism-dependent state now that gas is unaffordable to many would-be tourists?
Now let’s talk about the hypocrisy of the current Supreme Court, which seems on track to castrate federal regulatory agencies for not being part of the “originalist view” of the Constitution.
Picture a country where food is tainted because the FDA is defunct. Picture countless deaths because the CDC doesn’t exist to identify illness-causing contaminants. Picture a country where people are ingesting illegal pesticides and other chemicals used by agribusinesses that put profits over food safety. Picture meat infected with diseases and parasites because there is no monitoring of herds. Picture a return to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s because of drought and land wiped of all nutrients. Picture a country filled with homeless camps because there is no HUD to keep housing affordable for lower income earning workers.
By the way, the Supreme Court’s shotgun approach to “defunct” federal agencies would encompass the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Yes, government agencies are a pain in the butt to corporate America. But what does America look like without them?
Cynthia Nelson
Morgantown
