ON YOUR MIND: Amy Coney Barrett, Trump and troops, deniers of democracy

Note from Community Impact Editor Amelia Robinson: These letters to the editor appeared on the Ideas and Voices page Wednesday, Oct. 14. Letters to the Editor are submitted reflections from readers of 150 words or less. Letters to the editor should be sent to edletter@coxinc.com or submitted to our online form found at DaytonDailynews.com/opinion/sendletter. Please include a daytime phone number, your full name and the city in which you reside. Some of the letters below have been edited for length or clarity.

MILITARY CAN NOT REMAIN SILENT ― Melissa Rodriguez, (retired US Air Force), Dayton

These are not partisan statements; they are facts that we all know to be true. The military is made up of a diverse group from various backgrounds. We come together to complete our missions and serve our country and we need a leader that does the same. When I served, we didn’t speak out publicly about politics. But we cannot stay silent in this moment.

If you support our military, if you truly support the troops, you cannot support Donald Trump. He does not understand our sacrifice. Joe Biden knows what it’s like to send a son off to war and worry that he might never come back. He understands what servicemen and women and their families give up, so that our country is safe.

I urge voters to look into their hearts and think about their choice this November. This isn’t about Republicans vs. Democrats. This is about who can lead our country. Donald Trump is unfit to lead. We need a President and Commander in Chief that puts service and country before self.

BARRETT SHOULD NOT BE DISMISSED DUE TO RELIGION ― Steve Reser, Dayton

If Joe Biden has been afforded the opportunity to divorce himself from his religion’s dogma in order to legislate on issues that run contrary to his Catholicism, shouldn’t we afford Justice Amy Coney Barrett that same opportunity and afford her that same opportunity and assume she is capable of doing the same? Or, is this a privilege reserved only for Democratic men?

THOSE CREATE DOUBT SHOULD NOT BE REWARDED ― Shirley Kristensen, Yellow Springs

A person who deliberately creates doubt about the very system that defines our democracy does not belong in the Oval Office. A party that works to prevent eligible voters from exercising their right and privilege to vote should not be considered legitimate in the United States of America.

WALLACE TAKES THE ‘L’ ― Chuck Underwood, Miamisburg

The biggest loser in the first presidential debate? The moderator, Chris Wallace, who was steamrolled by Trump.

FEDERAL AND STATE HELP NEEDED TO CARE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN AND CHILDREN ― Montgomery County Commissioner ― Carolyn A. Rice

When I taught children with special needs, I saw the importance of investing in children in the earliest years, when interventions have the most benefit and cost the least. Montgomery County believes in investing in children. It’s why we support our community’s Birth-3 Collaborative that is expanding support to more babies and toddlers, and its why we were the first to support the Dayton-Montgomery County Preschool Promise.

But local communities need help from the top – our state and federal governments – to provide evidence-based home visiting; to ensure all pregnant women and young children receive health care; and to provide quality, enriching early care.