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Summit Daily letter: Stopping silent assertion in Summit County

Stopping silent assertion in Summit County

Re: “Fear prevalent in Summit County’s immigrant population, attorneys say,” Feb. 9

The recent report showing fear by the “immigrant population” must be addressed. In reality, legal immigrants fear nothing as to jobs, housing or transport. Those immigrants entered the United States lawfully and enjoy full rights under the U.S. Constitution.



Illegal alien migrants, those who violated our borders in contradiction to our laws — yes, they fear being detected, detain and deported. Journalist Jack Queen’s report failed to mention that fact. In Mark Twain’s time, he called the “lie of silent assertion” the worst of all lies. Why? Because everyone knew that slavery was wrong back in 1860, but no one spoke up.

So Mike, Morgan — if you would both stop pouring gasoline on the flames and work to educate, offer solutions and suggest ways to come together, you would both be doing us ALL a favor.

Everyone knows it’s a violation of our laws in Colorado to hire illegal migrant workers, but since no one enforces our laws, employers escape consequences.



But we taxpayers pay out for migrants’ children in our schools K-12. We pay for “free” breakfasts and lunches for those children. We pay for their medical care and their ESL classes. We pay as our children suffer from downgrading educational standards in our classes. I know because I am a former math-science teacher in Colorado.

All the while, those employers laugh all the way to the bank. They cheat the system, they cheat taxpayers and they cheat the law. Nonetheless, you will hear that employers can’t secure workers. Balderdash! The law provides a plethora of H-2A visas for foreign workers — legally. When you pay a living wage by following the law, you will obtain legal employees.

At some point, Colorado lawmakers, ICE and employers must come to terms with living within and honoring our laws. Any excuses won’t cut it when you’re cheating or undermining the law. The only reason illegal alien workers escape the laws of our land remains with our elected officials not doing their jobs, ICE sitting on its hands and employers defrauding the public by hiring illegal alien migrants.

When ICE starts arresting employers, prosecuting them and taking them to prison, then, we will see a resurgence for the respect for our laws. You may not like Trump, but he promised to stop illegal immigration by enforcing our laws.

It’s time to stop “silent assertion” in Colorado and Summit County.

Frosty Wooldridge

Golden

A big-league bravo to Liddick

I try to keep an open mind when reading both Mike Littwin and Morgan Liddick. Often, I can’t make it all the way through either’s column because of the divisiveness, disrespect and often name-calling in both. More often, I can’t make it through Liddick’s. But in his recent article about “Ugly emotions cloud political reason,” I say bravo, Morgan.

He makes a great case for attempting to accept another’s opinion without branding him or her as charlatan, a fool or a monster — or all three. I find I can see the other side’s issues much clearer if I’m not being labeled a “tree-hugger” or “bleeding-heart liberal” or worse. When someone is painting me with the same brush as all others in the progressive party, it is really hard to give them, and the story they are telling, any kind of credibility. Similarly, I can imagine, others on the more conservative side may find it hard to understand the liberal viewpoint when being called obstructionist, science deniers or other demeaning names.

We need to figure out how to listen to one another, be respectful of differing viewpoints, and come up with solutions to huge issues — I mean YUGE issues — we all face. Big-league issues.

The only way we can do that is to stop the name calling, the labeling, the demeaning, being disrespectful and work together.

So Mike, Morgan — if you would both stop pouring gasoline on the flames and work to educate, offer solutions and suggest ways to come together, you would both be doing us ALL a favor. Big league.

Judi LaPoint

Breckenridge


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