Sharing grief years after loss
I still have tears in my eyes after reading Rummana Hussain's recent column on her late father. My husband also died 20 years ago on Jan. 30 from a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but his path was much longer (five years and five bone marrow transplants).
I understand Hussain's melancholy in January; it never really goes away, just buries itself in life until the December holidays are over and cold and bleak January comes around again.
This year, when my children and I raise a glass to the husband and father we never stop missing, I will give a silent nod to Hussain and her father.
Susan Retterer, Naperville
Trump has done more harm than good
Bluntly, I take issue with reader Julius L. “Jerry” Loeser's Sunday letter in defense of Donald Trump’s presidency.
He does not mention the one thing for which Trump actually deserves some credit and that was his initial support for the COVID-19 vaccines. Trump later distanced himself on that subject because of the attitudes of so many of his supporters.
For whatever good Trump has done during either term, he has:
- Fanned racial hatred in the country
- Treated the presidency as a cash box
- Ignored court decisions
- Turned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security into a secret police force
- Hired and turned loose armed, poorly trained officers, encouraging them to detain — and sometimes shoot and kill — essentially anyone
- Attacked small boats in international waters with weapons of war in extrajudicial executions
- Emboldened Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping
- Single-handedly damaged the foundation of NATO and just maybe started international stability on a downward spiral.
- Damaged economic relations with 80-year allies, pushing them toward closer economic ties with China
Richard Nixon had a huge ego, but it was nothing compared to Trump’s. Nixon was a crook, but a piker compared to Trump.
The single most salient fact about the president is that not just these actions, but every action, is driven by the need to satisfy his ego.
You can argue about whether post-World War II America was a great country or just a pretty good one trying to live up to its potential. It will be a long time before other nations have a reason to trust us again. We boomers will not live to see it; I only hope our children do.
Michael Hart, West Ridge
Encouraging leadership
Regarding the Jan. 12 Sun-Times story headlined “Todd Smith helped bring down Chicago’s biggest drug traffickers. Now he’s running the DEA here,” I'll admit I was expecting an expose of typical Trump-era incompetence and terroristic violence on the part of Smith and Chicago 's Drug Enforcement Administration office. After all, it was a Watchdogs article. So imagine my surprise when it turned out that Smith seems to be a no-nonsense, non-self-aggrandizing, straight shooter with encyclopedic knowledge of his field. Shocking, but refreshing!
Marie Jordan, Westmont
Sad but hopeful sports mantra applies again
After the Bears' thrilling but disappointing loss to the Rams in the playoffs, perhaps the city of Chicago should change its motto to "Wait till next year."
Reid Mackin, Rogers Park