To the Editor:
Second Opinion.
I am not an historian. I am reexamining, through the lens of my memory, what has happened to the social and political life in our country. It is going to take more than one column to do this, probably four, and it won't necessarily be in chronological order. I hope you can hang in there with me and, when I'm through, I sincerely hope you will tell me what you think. If you are heavily aggrieved, you are of course welcome to comment at any time.
I did not recognize many events of my lifetime (since circa 1950; okay, 1945) as being significant, or I see them differently now from when they were unfolding. I did not realize that as the post-war period progressed, the bonds of relief, common purpose and experience, sometimes the memories of friends in terrible battles, as well as the struggles of families to keep the "fires burning" at home were loosening rapidly, naturally enough. In a country our size, expectable divisions arose as people pursued their own goals. But I discovered later that some of the divisions were purposely nurtured and encouraged even then, until they matured into the critical political virus that plagues our constitutional republic today.
The USA had not suffered the bombings and destruction experienced by Europe and the Axis powers in the War. Consequently, the incredible growth of our economy, following WWII, grew three generations of people with high standards of living compared to the rest of the world. We were audacious in our plans to make our country the most successful, righteous, richest, most accomplished, most acquisitive and, most importantly, the most complacent nation on earth.
In the 1950's President Eisenhower, using our taxes and labor, built a vast network of highways and then-governor Pat Brown did the same in California. Commerce and travel boomed our higher education system rivaled any other. But it costs a lot to be the super-power of the world. With our taxes, we all supported the roads, bridges, schools, dams and water systems, other public facilities and, necessarily but probably too heavily, the military..
The 1950's and 60's were a "golden age" for some, especially those who were benefiting from this historical economic boon. But WWII had not just been won; it changed the culture. Women's expectations had changed. Returning black servicemen were not about to subject themselves and their families to the racism rampant in the country after having heroically defended it. Black leaders emerged who would not make nice and accept another generation of African-Americans denied their rights under the Constitution. President Truman, a southerner and sensitive to the feelings of his fellow Missourians, nevertheless desegregated the armed services. It was clear that the time had come to confront racism in a new, truthful, and more vigorous way.
At the same general time, a series of assassinations in the 1960's rocked us, the emerging Civil Rights battles caused resentment, anger and fear in many people, and the Vietnam War caused the college-aged children of WWII veterans and others to reject the hegemony and lies of the government regarding military facts and the morality of that conflict inflicted by both political parties.
After enormous loss of life and treasure and faith in governmental transparency, the Vietnam War eventually subsided, and life was returned to "normal" for most Americans. Vietnam soldiers disappeared except when they refused to do so, College Vietnam protesters got jobs on Wall Street. The USA went to the moon! More homeless people appeared on the streets. The Great Society's plans to move people out of poverty were aborted by the costs of Vietnam and the resistance of none other than the "inspirational" Richard Nixon. And, of course, the somnolent inactivity of the Democratic Party. Presidents came and went.
People were rocked by the 1960's and 70's, but they were still optimistic or working hard at it by the 1980's. Once Vietnam was "behind us" and the Civil Rights Act signed, nothing but outrageous fashion, hippie sexual activity, and "grass" seemed seriously out of whack to the ordinary white citizen.
Next: Taxes, Reagan, Clinton, Gingrich
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore

***

To the editor:
I've seen many people talk about Judeo-Christian values when the United States is far removed from being founded on them. The Declaration of Independence was mostly written by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, none of whom were Christians, they were Deists. Looking at the Constitution, James Maddison, the principal author, was also a Deist. In fact, the Constitution contains wording that removes religion from state governance, contrasting with the theocracy of the Puritans, one of the major original colonies.
Let's look at what the Bible says about treating others:
Luke 12:33-34 - Sell your possessions and give to the poor.
Luke 3:11 - And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.”
Matthew 22:39 - Love thy neighbor as thyself.
Despite what the Bible says, Americans refuse to truly help the poor, claiming that the poor have something wrong with them, that they are lazy and deserve to be poor.
The last line is the most disregarded in the United States. How many natives were killed, black people held as slaves, women treated like second class citizens? How long were people of color tormented by the KKK, and how long until one can love who they want without fear of hate? But sure, the USA is an amazing Christian country (not that Christianity has an amazing record, but that's another letter).
Pedro Ivan Bazan (Microbiology, University of California, Los Angeles)
Santa Paula, Ca

***

To the Editor:
How is it that Adolf Hitler could manipulate and control the entire German population? Yet that is exactly what he did. There were a few dissenters, but they were quickly subdued by the power of the Nazis ( Nazi is an abbreviation for the national socialist party), people were encouraged to turn in anyone who disagreed, and any one of the Jewish faith.
I was born in France occupied by the Germans, while I remember very little, my dad was a prisoner of war in Germany, I heard my mother speak of the loss of our freedom, the constant presence of fear when people spoke .
I always felt America was preserved from this kind of tyranny, we are a nation who always prided itself on freedom and individuality. But all of a sudden travel was restricted, we were commanded to wear facemasks, voting laws were altered, speech censored by social media, large gatherings forbidden, church attendance also forbidden. In short our civil liberties that we took for granted were taken away. And now we are indoctrinating our children about this "cancel culture" lunacy the FBI is encouraging people to report friends, family that are "radicals" in other word not in line with the extreme leftist government of Biden. All this sounds very familiar, doesn't it?
I hope people are going to wake up and not allow this beautiful country of ours to be taken over by power-hungry left-wing radicals.
Huguette Johnson
Fillmore, Ca

***

To the Editor:
Recently, the City of Fillmore sponsored and added its logo to an LGBT event on city property. It also cobranded a Zoom webinar series on LGBT Basics 101. The following are comments I made to the City Council during Public Comments on Tuesday, July 13, 2021.
My name is Tim Holmgren. I’m a Fillmore resident and I’m speaking on behalf of myself and for Safeguard Fillmore. Many Fillmore residents are not pleased with the direction the City appears to be headed with regard to its support of social issues. They can't understand why the City would involve itself in, and take sides on, what are obvious political issues.
From my perspective, the City is doing what it's doing because there was a voice from some community members and the City wasn't hearing any voices from members of the community to the contrary. Hearing no opposition, the City was almost bound to comply and involve itself.
And, yes…up to now, the rest of the community of Fillmore has been silent. But a quote from history aptly describes where we are today. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the attack was intended to keep the United States from interfering with its planned military actions in Southeast Asia. It did not have the desired effect.
Afterward, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, who planned the attack, is said to have written in his diary, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
Republicans, libertarians and conservatives are the same way. We generally stay away from political fights because we're too busy paying attention to our own lives. We go through life with the feeling, “I’ll leave you alone if you leave me alone.” But, others are not so inclined. In fact, they like to use this opportunity to push and push and trample on our rights and our values
But, like with the attack on Pearl Harbor, when a line is crossed, Republicans, libertarians and conservatives wake up, like that sleeping giant, and they push back. That line has been crossed and it's my mission to motivate that giant to take a stand.LGBT is not really the issue. Neither is CRT, Advanced Sexual Education, BLM, "Defund the Police," the 1619 project or the plethora of other causes and issues.
These are all issues but they’re not the real problem. The real problem is the ideology behind these issues that uses these things as tools to divide.
When the proletariat overthrew the bourgeoisie in 1917, class was used to divide the people by this same ideology. In the US today, though, class is not enough so social issues are used to divide. But the goals are the same and they must be stopped.
Because these various issues are tools in the hands of people who are skilled at using them, this is only a stepping stone. Next month (month after month) and next year (year after year) this ideology will continue to push farther and farther.
What today is having a city sponsored event on public property, tomorrow becomes drag queen reading hour at the public library or twerking in the kindergarten classroom to show children it's OK. And people who oppose it will be called intolerant.
Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Good people tend to remain uninvolved while those who would divide and tear down a society keep pushing and pushing. But there comes a point when they push too far and that line is crossed. When that happens, the good people rise up and push those bent on damaging a desirable way of life back into their hole.
For Fillmore, that line has been crossed. More and more people are volunteering to step up and be heard. The ideology that pits one group against another in order to achieve its goals is unwelcome here. The giant is awake.
Moving forward we, the citizens of the City of Fillmore, respectfully ask that the City formally remove itself from any and all activity or ideology that seeks to divide the people.
As a side note, at the last city council meeting, after a resident spoke her mind, another speaker called that lady a racist simply because she disagreed with the first lady's opinion. When Public Comments are made by community members, other members of the public (and, of course, council members), in the name of good taste, should refrain from calling those people racists or other name calling just because they disagree with you.
I find it alarming how often this happens. And, it is bullying. It is also alarming how this bullying intimidates members of the community and prevents those who would like to speak from making public comments out of the fear of being called these names or being otherwise shamed or losing their business or having their livelihood targeted.
I would hope that the next time this happens during a council meeting, the mayor will stop the speaker and respectfully ask them to refrain from that sort of baiting.
We want to be respectful to people with whom we disagree and we would like for that to be a two-way street.
Tim Holmgren
Former Mayor of Fillmore