{"id":136486,"date":"2025-08-11T08:35:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T08:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/136486\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T08:35:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T08:35:14","slug":"letters-to-the-editor-informed-voters-u-s-politics-cellphone-ban-dallas-cowboys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/136486\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters to the Editor \u2014 Informed voters, U.S. politics, cellphone ban, Dallas Cowboys"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is on voters<\/p>\n

Re: \u201cAG wants courts to rule seats as vacant \u2014 Paxton says Texas Dems have abandoned office by leaving to break quorum,” Wednesday news story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We created this mess. A lot of people are unhappy about the direction our country is going. We don\u2019t like the bills being introduced, the laws being enacted, domestic and foreign policy, court decisions and spineless legislators. <\/p>\n

The genesis of our unhappiness largely comes down to partisan gerrymandering and big money. But we act like someone else foisted our current situation upon us. We put legislators into office who decide on voter district lines that pretty much determine who will be elected, campaign finance laws and judicial appointees\u2019 court decisions. <\/p>\n

Opinion<\/p>\n

Get smart opinions on the topics North Texans care about.<\/p>\n

We need to be informed voters. Let\u2019s spend more time researching candidates and issues. Understand the bias of your information sources. One resource is allsides.com.<\/p>\n

Stop bellyaching. We are so lucky to live in a representative democracy but it comes with a price. We need to be active responsible citizens. In a representative democracy, the government is not something apart from us. We are the government. If we don\u2019t vote responsibly, we are giving our power away to someone else. Nonvoters are just as responsible as uninformed voters for the mess we are in. Be an informed voter. Do your homework.<\/p>\n

Joan M. Ridley, Old East Dallas<\/p>\n

Dig out of partisan mud<\/p>\n

The United States political system has collapsed and been replaced by a one-man circus. This is happening in front of our very eyes. An ill-informed electorate, the election of a compromised president, aided and abetted by the silent Republican majority in Congress and enabled by the conservative Supreme Court majority that ruled on Citizens United and gave absolute immunity for a sitting president, are the cause of this collapse.<\/p>\n

Big business and billionaires that paid to elect the Supreme Court majority have won. Read the book The Scheme by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse to understand the situation the country finds itself in.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for the citizens of this country to dig themselves out of the partisan mud they have sunk into and work to correct this. It\u2019s time to realize who is the real enemy of the ordinary citizen.<\/p>\n

Persis Shroff, Flower Mound<\/p>\n

One-party remap unfair<\/p>\n

Re: \u201cWhy Texas GOP is right to redistrict \u2014 New map is fairer and more inclusive of Hispanic voters,\u201d by Nate Crain, Friday Opinion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Just the title of this column is wrong. To be fair and just, both parties need to be equal participants and it should pass with unquestioned bipartisan support. That is what would make redistricting right.<\/p>\n

Denise Friend, Coppell<\/p>\n

Give school phone ban time<\/p>\n

Sometimes, the role of good government \u2014 and good policy \u2014 is to protect people from themselves. The new schoolwide cellphone ban is exactly that. I won\u2019t pretend it will be easy. For many students and parents, constant digital connection has become a way of life. But maybe a little distance is exactly what we need.<\/p>\n

As a teacher, I see how cellphones disrupt attention, communication and learning every single day. This policy, though abrupt, offers an opportunity: a chance for students to reclaim focus, patience and in-person problem-solving skills. It might even benefit parents, too. I challenge any adult to spend eight hours away from their phone. If it\u2019s hard for us, imagine what it\u2019s doing to young minds still in formation.<\/p>\n

Yes, there will be growing pains. Some students will see us as enforcers, even villains. I\u2019ve jokingly suggested we get badges that say \u201cPhone Police.\u201d But we\u2019re not trying to punish \u2014 we\u2019re trying to teach. Just like speed limits once seemed extreme, but ultimately made roads safer, this policy is about creating a healthier learning environment.<\/p>\n

To parents and students: Please be patient. This won\u2019t be perfect, and it won\u2019t be easy. But trust that the teachers standing in front of your children each day are doing so with care, purpose and professionalism. <\/p>\n

Despite what some headlines suggest, most of us aren\u2019t extremists of any kind. We\u2019re educators. We entered this field to help shape thoughtful, capable and compassionate adults.<\/p>\n

Banning phones during school hours won\u2019t change that mission. In fact, it might just help us do it better.<\/p>\n

Dakota Moncrief, The Colony<\/p>\n

Theatrics in sports<\/p>\n

I am really hoping that Micah Parsons will be able to stay with the Dallas Cowboys. He\u2019s tried, I think, but his last statement makes me wonder. <\/p>\n

Loyalty in sports feels like it\u2019s become a relic. It\u2019s all business now \u2014 contracts, leverage, negotiations. The problem is the Cowboys, and other teams and sports, now pay a high price for some players. <\/p>\n

Fans want heart. Commitment. A sense that players care as much about the community and team identity as we do. The teams need to cap the pay limit for each person in all sports. <\/p>\n

Then when players retire, they can get a regular job, like a teacher or a police officer, or a librarian, or a business person. Try on the shoes of everyday people who work hard each day and don\u2019t get paid nearly enough. <\/p>\n

I just have to shake my head and sigh at the theatrics that are going on in sports, with people trading teams for more money since their current team didn\u2019t give them what they wanted. Team owners, staff and players alike are at fault.<\/p>\n

The imbalance highlights how we prioritize entertainment over education, safety, and service. I feel what a lot of fans feel \u2014 disappointment and disillusionment.<\/p>\n

Heather Batson, Lucas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is on voters Re: \u201cAG wants courts to rule seats as vacant \u2014 Paxton says Texas Dems…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":136487,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,8998,407,90,18880,7281,80,62,358,5524,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-136486","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-education","12":"tag-elections","13":"tag-ken-paxton","14":"tag-letters-to-the-editor","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-texas","18":"tag-texas-politics","19":"tag-tx","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115009219862316280","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}