On this day, we salute the service of all veterans while we keep in our thoughts and prayers the fallen, the missing and those who currently are serving in our military.
Who are these veterans? They are your grocer, your banker, your plumber, your child’s school teacher, your barber, your insurance agent and your neighborhood restaurant owner.
These veterans have given us freedom, security and the greatest nation on earth. Every day, we should give thanks to live in a country where citizens from every generation willingly raise their hands to protect our country and our freedom. And while not all veterans see war, all who served in the military have expressed a willingness to fight if called to.
Today and every day, we need to address the needs of our veterans. And we as a nation must always remember our veterans, who are our living heroes. They include men and women whose lives were torn apart and their bodies damaged in defense of our freedom. Who are in our veteran hospitals. Who have become homeless, with no place to sleep at night.
We as a nation must rise to the challenge here at home to simply take care of these living heroes. We need to see our government provide the support to help our comrades in arms. It’s about serving them as well as they served our nation.
So if you know a veteran or if you see one of our gallant men and women in uniform, thank them for their service to our country, for these are our veterans today, tomorrow and forever.
— Mike Formento, commander, American Legion Post, Glen Ellyn
We owe them all
On this sacred day, I’m hoping we all can take the time and salute those who have given America our most treasured gift of freedom. All gave some; some gave all.
Our country’s freedoms are not free. We don’t know all these veterans, but we owe them all. “Pro deo et patria.” Where would we be as a nation without them?
A grateful nation turns its eyes toward you all.
— Bob Angone, retired Marine, Austin, Texas
A day of peace?
On Nov. 11, 1919, Armistice Day was established in the United Kingdom to commemorate the armistice that ended World War I a year earlier. Congress later signed on for the U.S. to “perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations” with a day that is “dedicated to the cause of world peace.”
It became known as Veterans Day in 1954. Since then, it has largely become a commercial for promoting American militarism and perpetual war around the world. Today, there are more than 170,000 U.S. troops deployed in more than 170 countries. To a country engaged in perpetual war worldwide, “armistice” is a word that dare not speak its name.
America has enabled and prolonged the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, killing hundreds of thousands and turning Ukraine into a failed state with no chance of victory. Not satisfied with that bloodbath, the U.S. has funneled tens of billions of dollars in weapons for Israel to largely obliterate Gaza, killing over 100,000 while leaving the remaining 2.2 million Palestinians with little food, water, medicine, electricity or hope.
We regularly bomb innocents in a number of countries, such as Somalia under the Joe Biden and Donald Trump administrations. Senseless U.S. warfare is about the only thing both parties agree upon.
While every decent function of government uplifting the commons loses funding, our defense budget has soured to over $1 trillion.
After 71 years, it’s time for another name change. How about Peace Day, to honor people of peace such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and a true American war hero, Pvt. Chelsea Manning, who spent seven years in prison for outing American war crimes in Iraq? Peace Day would put the focus on peace Nov. 11, not endless war.
It’s time once again, as we did in 1926, to “perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations.”
As John Lennon famously sang, “Give peace a chance.”
— Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn
Say no to CPL cuts
In response to the op-ed by Ald. Samantha Nugent regarding the importance of fully funding the Chicago Public Library (“Libraries in Chicago are essential. Why is the mayor cutting CPL’s budget?” Nov. 7): I remember visiting CPL’s Edgebrook branch as a child in the 1950s and ’60s. This little storefront became a place of wonder at what was available to us at no cost. Those visits instilled in me a lifelong interest in learning and a curiosity of the world around me.
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As an adult, every time I moved to a new town, the first thing I did was obtain a library card. I introduced my own children to the bounty of a library, as we procured books, magazines, videos, help with science projects, etc. They are all avid readers as adults, as are their children.
I implore the City Council to consider the harm to Chicago citizens if funding is cut to this most precious institution.
— Leda Scagnelli, Chicago
Advice for the CTA
Thanks to the passage of a $1.5 billon transit funding bill that has saved Chicagoland transit from its fiscal cliff, the CTA now has the one thing it has not consistently had in a long time: money. CTA leadership is wasting no time: It is launching a Bus Priority Corridor Study alongside the Chicago Department of Transportation with four public meetings starting later this month. The focus of these meetings is to gather community feedback on five key high-priority bus routes that serve a great deal of Chicagoans. As a huge transit proponent myself, I agree that there must be a focus on expanding bus priority in this city.
What there does not need to be is endless community feedback gathering.
It is difficult not to be cynical about community meetings when transit proponents have constantly had their voices ignored. The last time CDOT sought community feedback was during its collaboration with the Illinois Department of Transportation for Redefine the Drive; the original proposals included a plethora of options such as light rail transit, tunnels or even dedicated protected bus lanes. Though these agencies admitted that the community was in favor of dedicated transit, they failed to include it in their 2024 proposal.
Transit proponents have also been overridden by those who seek to oppose transit-oriented development. For example, what now exists as the Loop Link was originally envisioned as full bus rapid transit but was watered down during community feedback and aldermanic pushback. Only now, years later, are we starting to truly enforce these bus-only lanes by ticketing those parked in them.
The CTA and CDOT need to cut the chatter. Now that there is money, just add the transit.
There are many European cities that the city can follow as a transit model. There are also studies and experts who can distinguish what works from what does not. People will always be wary of change, and no plan will appease everyone. So, just put in the bus lanes. The only community feedback necessary is for prioritizing best-served streets and times of day to determine schedules and frequency.
If we stop trying to reinvent the wheel, maybe we can see true improvement in our transit system in the next decade.
— Naomi Bhagat, Chicago
Note to readers: As part of our annual Thanksgiving tradition, we’d like to hear from you about what is making you feel thankful this year. (Sincere thoughts only, please.) Email us a letter of no more than 400 words to [email protected]. Be sure to include your full name and your city/town and use the subject line “Thankful.”
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].