Thank you for being so thin-skinned and unable to take any criticism, because it makes me look inward and acknowledge that sometimes criticism is helpful and constructive.

Thank you for so often spewing verbal vomit, because it makes me reflect that words matter. Everything out of my mouth could impact someone negatively, and I am more careful and considerate about how I speak to others.

Thank you for telling 10,000+ lies in 2 1/2 years, because it makes me think about “little white lies” I may tell and how damaging that can be for trust in relationships.

Thank you for revealing how insecure you are and how you always strived to please your father and were never good enough, because it makes me consider that sometimes I might put too much pressure on my children. It makes me a better parent to acknowledge that and change.

Thank you for your racist remarks about four freshman congresswomen and your policy to put children in cages, because they caused me to look around my community and admire its cultural diversity and donate to charities that help immigrants.

Thank you for thumbing your nose at the rule of law and colluding with Russia to interfere in our election, because I am now an educated voter, have read the Constitution and the Mueller Report, sought out and contacted my congressional representatives and senators, and know every member of the judiciary and intelligence committees.

Thank you for all the above, because it makes me realize that freedom isn’t free, and our democracy is something all Americans should not take for granted.

Finally, thank you for the awakening in this country that will make the Blue Wave of 2018 into a tsunami in 2020 and wash the most corrupt president the United States has ever had out of office as a one-term president.

Nancy McHugh, Plainfield

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Climate change solutions lie in the hands of young constituents

After last weekend’s heat wave in Chicago — which brought two heat-related deaths — we cannot simply treat our irregular weather as a normal occurrence. There was record rainfall in May. Record cold temperatures in June. And with a heat wave in July followed by a record low, it is clear that our current climate is abnormal and dangerous.

Our government needs to step up, politics aside, to solve our very real climate problem.

Carbon emissions have continued to increase. The impact has become undeniable. We, the next generation, will have to deal with the consequences unless proper legislation is put into place.

Seeing solutions such as a carbon dividends plan receive bipartisan support has made me optimistic. This would reduce emissions beyond those outlined in the Paris Agreement and reward the American people and economy with its returns.

Our climate is changing, and it’s time that lawmakers listen to their young constituents and work toward a solution.

David Hou, Lake Zurich