To the editor

I have read with interest a few recent observations regarding the performance of our current President, particularly with regard to our removal of troops from Afghanistan, but also regarding an entire range of issues which he has supposedly “messed up” in the course of a short eight months. I would merely like to offer up the following points regarding this criticism.

Initially, no one political party caused the pandemic. We might have had it contained except for an administration that dismissed it as a hoax, politicized the issue, and insisted on disseminating blatantly ridiculous information. People’s general ignorance about protection will insure that we’ll be dealing with COVID and its variants for quite some time to come.

Secondly, there is plenty of blame to go around for Afghanistan. If you believe that one individual simply woke up one day and made all of the decisions, you have a pretty poor understanding of how diplomacy and foreign relations actually work, or in this case don’t work. There are countless examples of other foreign relations issues which that were mishandled from Viet Nam to Syria, as well as any number of African countries in which genocide and ethnic cleansing was committed for religious and ethnic reasons.

Finally, Donald Trump had about as much political, military, and constitutional acumen as any 6-year-old. He lost the popular vote in both elections, and his claims and lawsuits regarding “election fraud” only uncovered a whole plethora of wrongdoing by himself and the rest of the Republican party. The myth he was revered by any other free world leaders is a joke. His administration added more to the national debt in four years than most other administrations in history, all at the expense of most average Americans while his cronies lined their pockets with tax free billions. The fact anyone would entertain the notion of reinstating him or having him represent the Republican party in 2024 is beyond ludicrous. As most scholars of “cult behavior” would say, “The only difference between Donald Trump and Jim Jones is the fact that Trump would charge for the Kool-aid.”

With any luck at all in the midst of all this tribalism we can find some individuals who can stop biting the hand that feeds them, and who will maintain institutions like labor unions, public employee retirement, social security, federally insured bank accounts, federally subsidized home and farm loans, and all the other institutions through which our lives are made comfortable and secure without asking whether we’re red or blue.

Dennis Phelps

Westbrook