Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Letters to the Editor

Greta Thunberg: different voice for courage or disrespectful twerp?

Law of unintended consequences

Are the leaders of the Democratic Party plagued by a serious case of myopia? It seems they are unable to see that their diligent efforts to impeach President Donald Trump will only help ensure his re-election. Yikes!

- Rick Schwab, Fort Worth

Democrats lie time and time again

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may say she does not hate anyone, but her actions and statements say otherwise. This is a common diversion with Pelosi and her party. Are you going to believe what they say or your lying eyes?

- Ray Harris, Fort Worth

Focus on the climate message

Congratulations to climate activist Greta Thunberg, a person with a condition on the autism spectrum, on her selection as Time magazine’s “person of the year.” (Dec. 12, 2A, “People; Climate activist Thunberg is Time ‘person of the year’”) Admonition to President Donald Trump for criticizing her for her emotional control rather than the content of her arguments.

Autism spectrum disorders are associated with social and communication differences. Thunberg often comes across as a collected individual, becoming visibly angry with very pointed intention, not loss of control.

For the president to focus on anger in his criticism of Thunberg is in poor taste and does a disservice to people with autism who struggle with social and communication differences.

- Dennis Borel, Austin

A real problem with respectfulness

Time, how dare you select Greta Thunberg as “person of the year”?

How can she be lauded over the hundreds if not thousands of people too numerous to list who are making positive impacts on the world? She is a child with little experience and no achievements, other than throwing a disrespectful, ill-tempered tantrum aimed at adult world leaders.

- Karl S. Ruckman, Fort Worth

Absolutely the wrong message

If there is one way to turn off teenagers, it is to put on your angry face and yell at them to do something or else. Now, Time magazine has awarded a teenager doing exactly that to us adults as its “person of the year.” There has to be some irony there.

- Jeff Murray, Weatherford

Party over country in plain view

In 1787, the Founding Fathers made provision for impeachment, at that time a well-recognized solution to misuse of power. As with so many of our democratic norms, it was assumed that our legislative representatives would faithfully execute their duties under the Constitution.

The founders did not imagine the current Republican Party and its superpower of shamelessness. They couldn’t have foreseen our senators’ casual abdication of those sworn duties.

As sad as this reality is, at least now the Republicans’ contempt for our democracy, our Constitution and our country is out in the open for all to see.

- Charles Stonick, Granbury

Tired of hearing bad about Trump

So we had three years of investigating Russian collusion, followed by impeachment for discussion of possible corruption with a foreign government, and now we have to listen to every negative thing that happened or that opponents of President Donald Trump can make up. Most Americans are sick of it.

- Mike Holt, Fort Worth

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