No easy answers for parents, school officials
At age 5, during the pandemic of 1957-1958, I contracted the H2N2 virus at school while in kindergarten in Ohio. I passed it on to my mother, whose multiple sclerosis had been in remission. She died of pneumonia on Oct. 22, 1957.
Eventually, my father remarried; our lives went on. But how does a child grapple with having brought home the illness that killed her mother? It is not easy.
That pandemic killed more than a million people worldwide and about 116,000 in the United States. People with underlying health issues were impacted. It was a novel virus in 1957, so there were no vaccines for it.
Now, what will happen when some children come home from school infected with COVID-19? Probably, some family members will get sick and some will die. Mine is just one story I hope we can learn from. We were a real family who coped with illness and death because schools were open in-person during a pandemic.
There is a debate about how to re-open schools during COVID-19. My hope is that school leaders will not open schools too soon and inflict suffering on children, their families, and school employees.
It is scientifically obvious: wait to open schools until the medical community tells us it is safe to do so.
Kay Palmer Marsh, Longmont
Re: “One-size-fits-all doesn’t work in back-to-school plans,” Aug. 16 commentary
Education professionals and advocates alike would agree with Krista Kafer’s headline, but that is where the agreement ends. Our public education system and the Colorado families that it serves are struggling to find the best way to educate and support public school students during these challenging times.
COVID-19 has already required cuts to the state education budget. Taking funds out of public schools to support the education of a few will cause grave harm to those already most harmed by COVID-19: poor and middle-class children and children of color.
Furthermore, subsidizing the privilege of affluent parents and their students increases racial segregation.
The education of our children, all children, is a cornerstone of a responsible democratic society that is willing to invest in its future. During these times, investing in public education should be paramount.
Any scheme that further reduces funding and exacerbates inequality, racial segregation and the opportunity gap is reprehensible. Keep public school funds in public schools!
Cindy Barnard, Englewood
Getting the vote out this November
In the past, the Greatest Generation took enormous risks to save this Democracy. Now it’s our turn. If you can vote by mail, do so. If you can vote absentee, do it.
If there’s no other choice except to stand in line at a polling place, rest assured, a long line of American heroes stands with you.
Vote!
Robert Ward, Longmont
Out of work? A bored young person over the age of 18? Why not pick up a patriotic activity and volunteer to be an election judge.
Contact your county election office and inquire how you can serve your country. What do you have to lose?
Barbara Wells, Aurora
What has happened to our ability to listen to each other? A government for the people and by the people must have elected representatives and senators, who are willing to listen and put their country before their party or themselves. That is how a democracy and/or a republic operates.
As John McCain once said, “We became the most powerful nation on earth by tearing down walls, not building them.”
Voting does matter! I am hoping in November that Coloradans will exercise their right to vote for candidates willing to compromise and work on both sides of the aisle and tear down those walls!
Norma Wick, Denver
Re: “Still receiving a ghost ballot for my out-of-state son,” Aug. 20 letter to the editor
Your point is valid but rather than just destroying the ballots you could have told your now out-of-state son to log onto the Colorado Secretary of State website and cancel his voter registration. It is the voter’s responsibility to do this. The Secretary of State is not a parent to remind us of our civic responsibilities.
A worker in a county clerk’s office in Michigan recently posted in regard to the same issue: “You people don’t want the government tracking you, yet expect us to know every time you move from your mom’s basement …”
Christine Jensen, Denver
When our daughter moved to California, her ballot came to our home the following September.
Rather than discard the ballot, I stopped by the county clerk’s office to return it and notify them that she had moved. I asked about the process states use in this case. Typically the new state notifies the old state of the new registration, but this takes time and some states are better than others about making the notification.
We all need to take responsibility to make our system as strong and accurate as possible. Why let the state continue to make an error that you know it is making? It is a simple, quick process to withdraw your voter registration at the Colorado Secretary of State website.
John Wells, Leadville
We need a sense of urgency to help the unemployed
Re: “Better service for those out-of-work,” Aug. 16 editorial
Sunday’s Denver Post editorial calling out the failure of Colorado’s unemployment system was spot on but failed to address the gravity of the situation.
Because unemployment affects a small percentage of workers, it can easily be seen as an abstract problem experienced by a nameless and faceless, group living off the dole, avoiding a return to work.
Even if you met the single mother in a food bank line, you wouldn’t meet her children.
When the family loses their car, you will not be riding on their bus.
And if they become homeless, you will not wander with them when they are rousted and need to find a new place to pitch their tent.
There are thousands of people who still haven’t gotten their first check.
This crisis is not on the radar screen for the majority of Coloradans. The governor, our legislators and most people haven’t missed a paycheck. The lack of a sense of urgency speaks volumes about what we really believe.
If you are ever at the mercy of others, you will come to realize there is no such thing as a safety net and civilization is a chimera.
Francis Miller, Parker
The Denver Post editorial board is completely wrong on its position that Coloradans need more unemployment insurance.
No. What Colorado needs is for its governor to reopen the economy. This current economic collapse was self-inflicted by our elected governor. His policies have put over 600,000 people out of work. And the economic damage has only begun.
Unemployment benefits are for short term employment gaps. It is not a welfare program. Unemployment benefits only discourage able-bodied workers not to work.
COVID-19 is not going anywhere. A fully vetted, effective and safe vaccine is nowhere on the horizon. It’s time to stop living in fear and go back to work.
Jeff Jasper, Westminster
Stop generalizing about police officers
Re: “One police officer’s hate can’t be ignored,” Aug. 16 commentary
The opening lines of this article state, “Police officers enact violence and condone hate. Both on and off duty. And now one has been caught online.”
I find this statement to be an inflammatory and inaccurate generalization based on one police officer’s words.
Nowhere in Sunday’s edition of The Post is there any coverage of the thousands of police officers (and firefighters) who are risking their lives to control burning and looting in cities like Chicago, New York, Seattle and Portland.
Nancy M. Stillman, Castle Pines
Reduce emissions now
Re: “100% of Colorado in drought,” Aug. 7 news story
Denver Post reporter Bruce Finley’s front page article on August 7, “100% of Colorado in drought”, should be sending alarm bells ringing throughout the state. Scientists acknowledge the hotter and drier conditions are exacerbated by climate change caused by burning fossil fuels. Brad Udall, CSU water center senior scientist, is quoted, “We know the temperatures in Colorado and the world will continue to increase so long as we emit vast quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year.”
Scientists have been warning us about rising CO2 for decades. We no longer have the luxury of being cynical. It’s here now, and we need to reduce greenhouse gases quickly to minimize future consequences. Our nation needs to move from a fossil fuel-based economy to a clean energy economy.
Many scientific and environmental organizations have ideas and action plans to offer. They are just waiting for Congress to signal it is time to seriously address climate change.
Rick Johnson, Castle Rock
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