More powerful than anger

“Hey Communists, go home!” a male voice from the crowd yelled.

I was walking in a parade with Democrats in Cumberland’s Rutabaga Festival last week in rural Wisconsin, happily blowing bubbles for kids along the way. Startled, I approached him with an amused smile: “I’m not a Communist.”

“Well, she is,” he responded, a bit taken aback.

“You seem like a nice man, so why are you calling me names? I like you and just want  to be your friend and neighbor.”

”Well, I might like you, too, if I got to know you better, but I don’t like how you vote.”

“Same here,” I laughed, marching off, blowing bubbles and leaving him smiling.

Later, along the parade route, I fell while trying to pick up a fallen sign. A very kind, burly man wearing a MAGA cap came off his chair to help me. No damage was done except to my ego, but a feeling of joy hit me. Despite our differences, someone was willing to help his neighbor in need.

These two encounters have made me realize that caring for each other, despite our differences, is more powerful than the anger that inspires the name-calling that permeates this presidential campaign.

Lynn C Olson, Clayton, Wis.

A stupid, selfish, drunk driver

A beautiful summer day. Friends and colleagues celebrating together. A young, female server cheerfully doing her job. Lives taken or significantly altered in the blink of an eye.

By a stupid, selfish, drunk driver.

By all accounts he should not have been driving, given his past criminal history. The system failed him. He failed himself. And the question remains: Why do bad things happen to good people? Individuals contributing to make lives better for others, and this world a nicer place for all of us to live.

Ursula Krawczyk, St. Paul

The hubbub

Re: “All the hubbub about Project 2025?” This year The Heritage Foundation has found a stooge that will help them implement those dangerous ideas given the chance. That’s what the hubbub is about.

W Quinn, St. Paul

Beware the censors

Brazil’s repression of free speech in X (formerly known as Twitter) robs Brazilians of freedom, and that should trouble us —censorship is a death knell for democracy.

Oligarchs agitate for suppressing opinions that threaten their rule, defining it as malinformation. To justify silencing voices other than their own, they may label those opinions as hate speech. If we allow only those in power to define acceptable opinions, whether it be hate speech or malinformation, we have by definition a dictatorship.

Americans are not so fragile that verbal insults cause irreparable harm or so feeble-minded that they cannot discern what is best or true. People on the fringes of society may foment unhealthy or harmful ideas. Only when they put those ideas into action should the majority expect the government to protect people from harm. Americans are not stupid and see through any person, corporation, or political party that claims others are an existential threat to democracy yet advocates for curbing freedom of speech.

D. Henry Roome, Red Wing

One way to help address our reading problem

Minnesota reading test scores came out last week and we should all be concerned. Only about half of Minnesota students are meeting or beating grade-level standards, and the state’s achievement gaps are among the largest in the country. There is a community-based solution. One-on-one reading tutoring by community volunteers can be an effective strategy to address the Minnesota reading achievement gap.

Evidence suggests that well-structured volunteer tutoring programs can lead to significant gains in reading achievement. For example, East Side Learning Center (ESLC) in St. Paul engages community volunteers to provide over 10,000 one-on-one tutoring sessions each year.

Children in ESLC programs improve their literacy skills and are better equipped for academic success, resulting in higher achievement rates and overall improved educational outcomes. A child who can read, write, and communicate effectively is more likely to secure meaningful employment as an adult, positively impacting the workforce and contributing to the community’s economic stability.

The Minnesota reading achievement gap often reflects broader socio-economic and racial disparities. Volunteer tutoring programs can help bridge this gap by providing additional support to students who might otherwise lack access to such resources. One-on-one tutoring fosters strong, supportive relationships between tutors and students. Positive relationships with adults can enhance student motivation and engagement. Students who receive personalized attention are often more motivated to learn. Students who receive individual support are more likely to develop a positive attitude toward reading. One-on-one tutoring allows for tailored instruction that meets the specific needs of each student, which can be especially beneficial for struggling readers.

Contact amelia.wherland@eslcmn.org to learn more about how you can address the reading achievement gap.

Karmit J. Bulman,
executive director, East Side Learning Center

Lucid language and context

One of my favorite features of the Sunday edition of the Pioneer Press is Edward Lotterman’s articles on the state of the economy. Each week in lucid language Lotterman explains current economic issues and provides historical political and economic context to show if and how these issues were dealt with successfully in the past and if not, how we can learn from prior mistakes.

Ed Malecki, Maplewood

Related Articles

Mark Gongloff: Texas is the new Arizona, and not in a good way

 Erwin Chemerinsky: We’re living under a flawed Constitution. Let’s start fresh and rewrite it

Tyler Cowen: AI culture will be weirder than we can yet imagine

Other voices: Russia and Iran want a vote in our election

Joe Soucheray: Rondo residents’ objections over bike lane shouldn’t be ignored