The US had it coming from Russia: Readers sound off From Russian meddling to renaming Austin to socialism, our readers sound off on recent news.

USA TODAY

Letter to the editor:

I’m having a hard time understanding why so many people are upset about Russian meddling into our election. Who cares? The good ol’ U.S. meddles in countries around the world and their affairs, and we think nothing of it. Well, what goes around comes around.

More: Russia invaded Georgia exactly 10 years ago. Here's how Trump could prevent another war.

We’re extremely naive to think other countries don’t follow our example. Unless we can prove that the Russians changed the vote count, what is the big deal? It is no different to me than all the garbage-filled political ads we see. If people get influenced by propaganda, so be it. We have spent almost two years spending ridiculous amounts of money on an investigation that will probably yield nothing of consequence.

Jeff Parsigian; Royal Oak, Mich.

Don’t ban Alex Jones

Letter to the editor:

I don’t like Alex Jones whatsoever, but I hate censors far more, and those who block free speech are the worst villains. “Big Tech” is acting more and more like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and we should all be scared.

If Jones is spewing defamation and lies, then all YouTube has to do is put a disclaimer at the start or on a banner above the video that says, “this man says many things that are historically inaccurate” or whatever so the viewer is warned. You don’t ban coffee because it’s hot and can burn you. You simply put a warning to customers or a reminder.

More: Censoring Alex Jones will only make him stronger

I don’t want to elevate Jones’ carnival barker act, but historically, it’s been the truth tellers and whistleblowers whom the establishment censors. Heck, all four Beatles were arrested! From Mae West to George Carlin to Edward Snowden to Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Meanwhile, the establishment gets caught lying to us invariably, from the old “tobacco is good for you” to President George W. Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech.

And if the establishment hadn’t dumbed society down in the first place, no one would fall for Jones’ snake oil sales pitch, would they?

Mildred Manham; New York City

Socialism doesn’t work; tell the kids

Letter to the editor:

There has been a lot of discussion about socialism lately — in part, thanks to self-proclaimed Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Let me be clear: Socialism is not an effective way to run an economy.

I predicate the failure of socialism on the notion that people essentially act out of self-interest — whether we want to admit it or not.

More: CNN thinks that socialism is cool. My grandparents from the USSR would disagree.

That being said, capitalism, with its “invisible hand,” has proved the most efficient way to distribute goods and services.

At the same time, in order to preserve capitalism, a minimum number of “safety nets,” such as unemployment compensation, are necessary — to keep as many people in the game as possible.

However, I do think that a better job needs to be done in our educational system, to prepare young people for what it takes to get ahead in our economy, such as it is today.

Harry Toder; St. Louis

Renaming Austin? Where do we stop?

Letter to the editor:

Holy moly! Some people want to rename everything that’s named after anyone associated with slavery? Are we going to rename the nation’s capital? A northwestern state? Tear down the Jefferson Memorial? Where will it end?

Those who forget or deny history, and especially those who want to rewrite it, are doomed to repeat it. Is that what’s happening now? We’re repeating our not-so ancient history of erasing the past?

People may be surprised how many Americans, of multiple generations, have ancestors who owned slaves. I only recently discovered I’m among them. And I now suspect that far more people don’t know either, like I didn’t. Where does that leave me?

I have family roots in Austin that go back more than 100 years. I’m proud to live in Austin, and it’s not Austin by any other name. I’m doing my part to keep Austin weird! And I will fight this!

Sharon Lippincott; Austin

More: Politically correct effort to rename Austin proves Donald Trump was right

Letter to the editor:

I live on Plantation Road, one of the streets being renamed in Austin. Honestly, who wants to live on a street associated with slavery?

Do you really think driving by my street is teaching people a history lesson? Street names and monuments don’t provide historical context, but they can whitewash and glorify the Confederacy in the minds of ignorant people. A plantation wasn’t just a pretty house, “Dixie” wasn’t just a catchy song, and Jefferson Davis wasn’t just another contributor to local history — I’d forgive a visitor for assuming that.

Katharine Rovinsky; Austin

Lies are the means to destroy democracy

Letter to the editor:

The freedom of the press separates America from most countries, and it is paramount to our personal freedoms.

The truth is always difficult for politicians to align with, especially when their office (livelihood) is at stake. History tells us that all administrations loathe the press, because they cannot control all the watchdogs.

Sure, reporters get the story wrong if they’re too eager to get a scoop, but not often. A free press brings transparency to the dark side of politics and big business, while spilling the beans on bean counters. American society has reached the point where the truth doesn’t matter that much, if at all, as long as lies support one’s beliefs. Ideologies based on untruths have always been the means to destroy democracies, enslave the populous, and make the wealthiest wealthier. Lies are like cake icing. One is never sure about what kind of cake it is until the icing is penetrated.

John O’Malley; Hoover, Ala.

More: Donald Trump broke the presidency. It's time to get rid of the job altogether.

Letter to the editor:

Is it proper for the accused to exonerate himself?

If you happen to be a Donald Trump voter — which would be about half of America’s voting public — you have probably been called a million names by now, all trying to say you were stupid about your vote. And the problem between the news media and Trump started because it was apparent the media had their candidate picked in 2016, and we the people screwed up their plan. The media need to start reporting what happens and not what they hope will happen. I don’t know anyone who trusts the media, or any other large entity — and for good reason! We have been lied to a lot by major institutions, and we’re damned tired of it.

News media, try reporting and leave the anointing of new politicians to the public. This is just another reason newspapers are going away: You feed us the same trash as the internet, and lies are cheaper online.

William Grey; Virginia Beach

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