Letters to the editor Sept. 20

Zinke’s critique on point

Kate Shaw’s letter (Zinke misses mark in ‘miseducation’ column, Sept. 18) appears to have been written with breezy unawareness of how transparently in line it is with exactly the totalitarian approach to uniform indoctrination, as opposed to education, that former U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke was objecting to in his Sept. 15 opinion piece (Fixing the department of ‘miseducation’).

If it weren’t obvious enough on its face that Ms. Shaw is in full agreement with the dominant narrative foisted on children in the public schools, she further reveals her predisposition to the outlook favored by the left-leaning establishment that controls all the key cultural and educational institutions in the U.S. today by attacking John Fuller, (who she coyly identifies as “a candidate in state senate district 4”) alleging that John is the only teacher in her memory who “crossed the line” and “presented as fact [what was] patently his take on events.” What she really means is that John’s classroom presentation followed an interpretation of the facts at variance with the dominant left-wing narrative.

It is precisely an establishment staffed with liberal NPCs like Ms. Shaw that motivates parents to send their children to religious and other private schools. Zinke’s critique of the Department of Education was right on the mark.

­— Lee W. Smith, Somers

Zinke’s diatribe

Ryan Zinke once again is trying to shift attention from his history of having his primary residence in California, having had 18 investigations into his conduct as Interior secretary, and from the fact of his lying in some of those investigations.

He missed the mark with his “miseducation” diatribe as well. For him to think educators are trying to “con” students into believing “America is a racist country built on oppression and inequity” is untrue.

America is a great country, with so many positives, but students do need to learn about our past, including the poor practices we have at times followed. Perhaps Mr. Zinke never took a class on American history, as there is overwhelming evidence of racism, oppression and inequity in our history. We signed contracts with Native Americans “giving them land,” then when the U.S. government wanted that land instead, those contracts were violated and replaced with reservations being placed on less desirable land.

Even today, our Montana Legislature is trying hard to dilute the Native American vote by gerrymandering, and restricting appropriate options for receiving ballots and returning ballots.

One doesn’t have to look far to see racism in our history, as well as inequality for many, as in access to health care.

Mr. Zinke has clearly betrayed the trust of Montanans numerous times as a public servant and we need a Congressional representative we can trust.

Students are taught to take pride in so much of our history, and Monica Travel with her qualifications, is the candidate that deserves our support.

— Rayne Beach, Whitefish

Freedoms

I can agree with almost all of Richard Grozik’s Aug. 28 letter to the editor (Freedom Lost). Had he added a couple more “isms” to his list of threats to our freedoms, I get even closer to full agreement.

Of course, fascism and Trumpism, which are key omissions that most threaten our democracy, need to be included. Also notably absent is “racism.” Is its absence meant to imply that racism is OK, or not a threat to democracy? Since it should be indisputable to all that racism is not in keeping with “all men are created equal,” it too must be included.

In his concluding paragraph Mr. Grozik states we need “to rekindle the Spirit of 1776” to save our freedoms. However, lest Mr. Grozik’s reference to 1776 be construed by some to incite further seditious violence by the radical right-wing, anti-American Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, et al., that reference should be deleted.

A couple more additions would then also be in order. Namely, what we need to rekindle is the spirit of the Constitution and the rule of law. If those minor changes were to be made to Mr. Grozik’s letter, there is absolutely nothing that any rational person who considers him/herself to be a patriot should find objectionable.

— Al Weed, Kalispell