To the editor: Growing up I was taught and inculcated with certain values.
Treat everyone with respect. Be tolerant of and learn from a diverse population. Take care of those who need help. Don’t bear false witness. Don’t steal. Think critically in evaluating someone’s motives. Make your life what you want your eternity to be.
My definition of democracy became the metaphor of a dinner table with room for everyone. With this election, America has chosen to become selfish and exclusive. President-elect Trump has none of the values I was taught, and apparently that is fine with a majority of Americans.
After World War II, I recall we were all against fascism; now it is becoming a preference. Are we seriously thinking of “realigning”? Individuals and their rights don’t do well under authoritarians.
James Severtson, Reseda
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To the editor: Despite hundreds of millions of dollars (if not billions) squandered, hyperbolic rhetoric invoking Adolf Hitler, relentless politically motivated lawfare that has undermined the faith of our justice system, assassination attempts and the insulting of more than half of Americans who supported him, Trump has prevailed.
Instead of trying to end warmongering, adopt sound fiscal policies and address the myriad domestic problems facing our struggling nation, the Democrats chose to focus on “getting” Trump. This only elevated his status to that of a martyr, and now the American people have reacted accordingly.
I pray that Democrats will do some soul searching in the next four years to realize that Americans want their elected officials to focus on them and not personal vendettas.
Michael Pravica, Henderson, Nev.
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To the editor: “My last grocery bill was $500 for five days’ worth of groceries,” my cousin in Texas wrote on Facebook, just two days before the election.
As I read the exit polls from Wisconsin, I am struck by the pain, anxiety and fear that drove average voters this election. The America that Trump’s voters see is vastly different from what Vice President Kamala Harris’ voters see in these polls: Most perceive the nation’s economy as poor, feel worse off than four years ago and are angry about the direction in which the country is headed.
Democrats failed to clearly communicate how they would address these problems for the average American. For many of us, concerns about losing rights become secondary when we are struggling to put food on the table.
The polls painted this fact in splashes of red across the heart of America.
Christina Cutting, Van Nuys
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To the editor: Not only did Trump collect enough electoral votes needed to win the presidency, he seems to have gotten the popular vote as well — quite an eye-opener. What that tells me is that America has spoken. But who and what is America (and are Democrats listening)?
America is certainly not a gaggle of A-list celebrities in the entertainment industry, and I’ll throw most of the mainstream “news” media into that barrel — not all of them, but most of them. “Real” journalists were not backing Harris or Trump; they were too busy doing their jobs, covering the chaos as objectively as they could.
Finally, America is not mega-donors (of which there aren’t really that many compared to the entire population).
America, to me, is the average person on the street, with an average job, and an average family. They’re not rich or famous or powerful. They’re just people, and on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, those people spoke. And they said that they prefer what Trump represents over what Harris represents.
Simple enough?
Arthur Saginian, Santa Clarita
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To the editor: It was so hard to get up Wednesday morning (after not sleeping), look at my two girls and think of the America I brought them into.
Then one smiled at me, blissfully unaware and the other happily said, “Good morning Dad.”
The next four years will be hard, the damage will last even longer, but they have four presidential cycles to grow up in, and then vote and push this country forward into the America it should be.
That gives me hope.
Michael Smallberg, Menlo Park, Calif.
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To the editor: I thought I had seen just about everything in my 93 years. I think I have now that a lying, cheating, morally bankrupt snake oil salesman has been elected to the highest position in this land.
Our Supreme Court is a sham, and Republicans place party above country, I have lost all respect for just about everything in this country.
The only smarts Trump has is how to manipulate, connive and lie. He is very good at that.
God bless our country; we’re really going to need it.
Ardyce Martin, Banning
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To the editor: Remember less than 40 years ago when a photo of a man with a woman who was not his wife sitting on his lap was enough to disqualify him for the presidency in the court of public opinion?
Gary Hart was clearly a man ahead of his time.
Ronald O. Richards, Los Angeles
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To the editor: To all those who voted for Trump, I welcome you to the real world. The Great Delusion will soon be unveiled and unmasked.
Lower prices on consumer goods such as groceries — not going to happen. Deportation of millions of immigrants — never going to take place. You won’t find the “vermin,” because they never existed.
Tariffs that will improve the economy — no way. Making America a better place for all, including equal justice under the law — forget that.
Those under the Great Delusion will soon “reap the whirlwind” of reality, but we all better buckle up, as it is going to be a bumpy ride the next four years.
Rex Altman, Los Angeles
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To the editor: I … can’t … breathe.
Judith Braun, Woodland Hills
