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Letters From the March 2/19, 2020, Issue

A scoutlandish story!… Love supreme… No more war… Street smarts…

Our Readers

February 18, 2020

A Scoutlandish Story!

Morley Musick’s story about the Border Patrol’s youth program [“Meet the Boy Scouts of the Border Patrol,” February 3] was the scariest article I have ever read in The Nation. The attempt to tie the training and mentoring of young people to catching undocumented immigrants, along with the brainwashing of these youths in Trumpian ideology, sends up red flags for anyone who knows history. It has the smell of the Hitler Youth program from the 1930s. Is that where this is headed?

If anyone is not aware of how dangerous Donald Trump, his administration, and his cult followers are, this should convince them. This effort to create an indoctrinated Trump Youth Scouts is reason enough to make sure we elect a Democratic Senate and a new president.

Mike Boland fishers, ind.

I was disturbed by your article “Meet the Boy Scouts of the Border Patrol.” First off, the lovely cover illustration of the young Border Patrol Explorers poses them as little Nazis; please do not try to tell me that was not what you wished to imply.

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Perhaps you would rather these kids get into drugs, smuggling, or other sorts of mischief. Instead, they are learning discipline, law enforcement, first aid, and other useful skills. The slant of your article is obvious and disgusting. You should be praising these kids as good examples, but your liberal agenda is to drag them down and make them look like they are minions of the Border Patrol.

Go ahead and laugh at them in a few years when they are making more than $125,000 a year.

Ray Harris las vegas

Love Supreme

I enjoyed Connie Schultz’s piece 
”Love and Rockets” [February 3]. 
I so wish her husband, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, had run for president. He could have stood up to Donald Trump’s lies, bullying, and lack of knowledge. I fear the current leaders in the race for the Democratic nomination do not have the stamina, determination, or ability to confront Trump or to appeal to a broad group of people. Debbie Cassetari chino hills, calif.

No More War

Kudos for your editorial “Stop This War” [January 27]. The murder of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani was indeed a useless and dangerous escalation of our needless ongoing war with Iran. All the reasons given to support the attack are only the usual claptrap from jingoistic flag-wavers. George Batts jacksonville, fla.

Become a Sustaining Donor This September

Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.

This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.

We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.

That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible. 

I hope you’ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we’ll send you a brand new “Hands Off the Free Press!” sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today. 

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Street Smarts

I want to express support for Jeet Heer’s view that activism is essential to getting Congress and our other leaders to act [“Impeachment Needs to Move to the Streets,” December 30/January 6]. Without it, there would have been no civil rights legislation. If not for three years of activism against the depredations of the Trump presidency, there would have been no impeachment effort. Yes, there is the rule of law, but it is only the action of citizens that prompts its enforcement, by informing elected representatives of their demands. Henry Steen austin, tex.

Correction

“Australia Is Burning” by Daniel Judt [February 10] incorrectly states that the Australian Labor Party formed a coalition government with the Green Party after the 2007 elections. There was no coalition government under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

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