Diagnosis of men’s struggles was wrong
USA Today columnist Nicole Russell sees men struggling because the culture of the left and feminism maligns them. Now the right is coming to save men from the trash pile.
Please.
Russell names sacrifice, strength, responsibility and leadership as masculine values that the left is diminishing. Who (besides President Trump) would scoff at these traits? And why assign them to men and not women?
Russell is correct that men struggle more than women with drugs, gambling and pornography, and kill themselves more frequently than women do. But she is incorrect to blame feminism and the left. Men have excelled in drugs, gambling, porn and suicide for as long as anyone has kept track. Jeffrey Epstein was a victim of deeply rooted and toxic masculinity — not feminism.
It is noteworthy that, on average, females have higher levels of academic achievement than males. We get better grades. Yet males still rule. The U.S. has never had a woman president. The photogenic women in the Trump Cabinet get fired, while scandal plagued men stay. Congress is three-fourths male, as is the president of JPMorganChase.
Even a leftist feminist grants there are a few things that men can do that women can’t. And they make more money. Yet the reason we keep them around is that we like them and want the best for them.
Deborah Fink, Ames
More awareness from everybody can improve trucking safety
As the wife of a professional truck driver, I’ve spent years hearing stories about dangerous situations that could have been prevented through better education.
Many motorists simply don’t understand truck blind spots, stopping distances, merging requirements, or the unique challenges commercial drivers face. That’s why I have begun advocating for driver education reform, including stronger instruction on safely sharing the road with large commercial vehicles.
Every truck-related crash affects not only drivers and their families, but also the communities that depend on them. Better education can help prevent tragedies before they happen.
At the same time, I recently launched Kalea Luna Music, where I write country songs inspired by the trucking lifestyle, the families waiting at home, and the men and women who keep America’s shelves stocked and economy moving.
While one effort focuses on education and the other on music, both share the same goal: helping people better understand the trucking community.
Behind every truck is a human being with a family, a story, and people hoping they return home safely.
If we can improve driver education and encourage greater awareness of the trucking industry, we can make Iowa’s roads safer for everyone.
Kalea Luna, Boone
Immigrants are an indispensable part of farming
That old adage about our farmers “feeding the world” needs a little clarification. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford acknowledged that “roughly two-thirds of U.S. agricultural workers are non-citizen immigrants.” She went on to note “there’s a universal understanding that most of the time American citizens don’t want these jobs. This is not an argument that immigrants are taking jobs from Americans.”
Donald Trump masquerades as a friend of the farmer, but his misguided tariffs, unnecessary war with Iran, and draconian immigration policies represent a triple threat to our farmers, when many of them are now on the edge of insolvency. His chief domestic policy advisor, Stephen Miller, wants to deport every non-citizen immigrant. Two-thirds of our agricultural workforce? If you think food prices are high now, just wait till that happens. Do our current senators and representatives have a grip on any of this? If so, I’m not hearing it.
Jim Walters, Iowa City
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Immigrants are an indispensable part of farming | Letters
Reporting by The Register’s readers, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By The Register's readers, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
