Greg Abbott’s disrespect for Jimmy Carter shows Southern civility is dead for good | Opinion

No civility

Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to order state flags at full height on Inauguration Day during the official mourning period for former President Jimmy Carter was just wrong. It demonstrates the complete fall and disintegration of Southern civility.

When my family retired to Texas in 1973, my mother was not fond of Texas politics but was impressed by the civility and politeness here, especially in political discussions. Abbott has erased that last wonderful quality. It’s too bad other governors followed Abbott’s example.

Trump, like all of us, will die someday. And whether you respect him or not, I hope all governors will observe the full 30-day mourning period.

- Gabrielle Gordon, unincorporated Tarrant County near Fort Worth

Wrong image

President Donald Trump has very quickly demonstrated that he needs to change his slogan from MAGA — Make America Great Again — to MAMA — Make America Mean Again.

He says we will be admired by the world. I beg to differ; feared by the world is more like it.

- Graham Donathan, Benbrook

Biden’s failures

Ryan Rusak’s commentary about President Joe Biden’s administration was spot on. (Jan. 18, 4C, “Biden’s farewell reminded us of every reason we can’t wait for him to just go away”) He covered every reason including: righting the economy, warning about the tech industry taking over business, too many billionaires around and the most unlawful things Biden has done. For one, the Supreme Court told him that he didn’t have the authority to pass student loan debt to the taxpayers, but he did it anyway.

Thank you, Ryan.

- Lucille Bida, Arlington

By comparison

Ryan Rusak’s commentary was way too slanted. Granted, President Joe Biden could have done better, but failing to acknowledge his accomplishments presents an unfair assessment of his administration. Did Rusak offer the same opinion of Trump’s previous four years when he botched the COVID-19 response, rang up a huge debt with his unwise tax breaks and cozied up to Russian President Vladimir Putin while alienating our allies?

- Charles Clines, North Richland Hills

History’s verdict

President Joe Biden did a very good job leading our country overall.

He got the economy creating jobs. He got vaccines out so we could move on from COVID-19. He stood with Ukraine against the Russian invasion. He took big steps to address climate change, started big repairs to our infrastructure, fostered computer chip manufacturing here and brought down prescription drug costs in a big way.

He didn’t get everything right, especially on Gaza. Inflation was a challenge. Sadly, his age clouded his message and people’s perceptions of him.

But like Harry Truman, history will judge Biden better than he is judged today.

- Jason C.N. Smith, Fort Worth

Clear the path

A majority of Texans and Americans voted to send Donald Trump back to Washington. The mandate for change was clear. He promised to secure the border, restore American energy dominance and reduce inflation. To reach these important goals, Trump needs a strong Cabinet to execute his plans.

We are counting on Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to join their colleagues in swiftly confirming the president’s Cabinet nominees. They are ready to hit the ground running. Any holdup in this process will delay much-needed change.

- Sylvia Coulson, Waxahachie

Keep money here

I’m a registered Republican, and I support gambling and casinos in Texas. Millions of dollars are pouring out of our state already. Keep the money here to offset budget constraints.

Texas should legalize cannabis, too. That’s more tax revenue we could tap. And I’d rather be around stoners than drunks any day.

- Mark Wood, Lubbock