Letters: Protect Camp Nelson, Mill Springs battlefields

Protect historic sites

The United States has many valuable national monuments, and I hope Congress will protect these landmarks permanently. Americans should learn what was needed to bring us to where we are today. These monuments show us that, and teach us what we should strive for in the future.

The National Park Service needs to consider designating two areas in Kentucky as national monuments. Camp Nelson and Mill Springs Battlefield are amazing places to see our history. These landmarks need to be preserved so they can be seen by our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Lastly, our area suffers economically. I have lived in other parts of the country and have seen the benefits tourism can have. I genuinely believe national monuments can teach a valuable lesson to millions of people while benefiting the local economy.

Older voters not fooled

We senior citizens are predicted to be the group most likely to vote in the coming election. I can’t speak for all voters over 65, but the seniors I know aren’t swayed by empty rhetoric, false claims or fearmongering.

Candidates, we are not interested in hearing about the Supreme Court decisions you would overturn if you could. You’re entitled to your ideologies, but our country and our state have real problems that need to be solved. Isn’t it time to address greenhouse gas emissions and climate change?

Demonizing Rep. Nancy Pelosi or Sen. Elizabeth Warren may win you a little support from uninformed voters who vote against, rather than for, candidates, but seniors have been around long enough to recognize tactics designed to divert our attention from the real issues.

More than the money

The reporting around the 6th District U.S. House race has revolved almost entirely around how much money each candidate has. Candidates with millions of dollars of out-of-state money are perceived as serious, while candidates who have lived and worked among us for years are discarded without debate.

This leaves Kentucky citizens with a race in which the only question is whether Amy McGrath will find a way to outspend Andy Barr. If she does, she wins. If she doesn’t, she loses.

This leads to the situation that we have now, where our “representatives” are unknown to us and do nothing for us. These people have nothing to offer but a bit of money at election time, and they are so far removed from us that we don’t understand what it is they are buying from us anymore.

People should demand more in-depth electoral reporting, and the Herald-Leader should provide it.

Decay of a nation

The quest for power without moral character corrupts a nation, creating rot from within. That is happening now. Many in Congress are abdicating their oaths to the Constitution, thus destroying our institutions in order to worship the authoritarian in the White House.

Benjamin Franklin told a citizen that the 1787 Constitutional Convention created “A republic – if you can keep it.” And as many have said, people get the government they deserve.

Grateful for care

October is Cancer Awareness Month, which gives me the opportunity to thank all the people involved in my treatment these eight years at Baptist Health Hospital. The doctors, nurses, dietician, volunteers and staff are dedicated, supportive and exceptionally caring, and give me encouragement and hope.