Speak Out is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you there’s something you’d like to comment on in Elgin or beyond, send an email to [email protected]. Please include “speak out” in the subject line.
Bad karma: Vladimir Putin’s war has gone on for over a year and the blood that’s been shed by his countrymen is, by his own estimation, the price that must be paid for his greatness. Is there any doubt that mankind owes him a massive amount of payback?
Make diversity illegal? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came to speak to the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police. This is the same union that does not have any African Americans on its board but claims to represent all police officers. Maybe DeSantis could have advised them on being more inclusive, or should they just follow DeSantis’ example and create a bylaw making diversity illegal?
Division mongers: I hope people read the newspaper and stop blindly following House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his Republican appointees, like Marjorie Taylor Greene and others who are trying to divide the country into two groups. They want to ban books, tell schools what they can teach and change history, shut down government over the debt limit and some would eliminate Social Security and Medicare.
Vote for change: If you like the status quo of your current politicians, then you should vote for the incumbent. However, if you don’t like what you see in their leadership then you should vote for a change. Promises made by incumbents and all politicians are made to get them voted into office. Once in office, you can only look back at what the incumbent and politicians promised and what they actually did to fulfill their actions. I like to think that actions speak louder than words.
Make basketball harder: A game of basketball has become a freak show. Players today can jump higher and are giants whose head almost reaches the rim of the basket. Three-point shooters dominate. They have to raise the basket to 12 feet, move the 3-point back two feet. Let’s make it a little harder.