Letters to the Editor | Sept. 12, 2025

After the horrifying shooting of Charlie Kirk, I feel we need to look within ourselves when it comes to this national rage.

The sad truth is that politics is not the only cause of this sort of violence. But it is often a barometer for how we are doing.

After the viral “Phillies Karen” incident, many people on social media were very quick to name a potential suspect. This woman, whom I’m not sure was even the culprit, let alone at the game, was targeted by harassment online, and even had to post something begging for mercy by telling people she wasn’t there.

Right now, humans are very angry people who are looking for someone to blame for anything. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I’m one of them.

Whether it’s a shooter or an entitled woman who takes a ball from a little boy and his father, our society is really off.

We have people on both sides talking about a national divorce in the United States based on political leanings, as if that would solve our problems. It wouldn’t. Our bubbles would just get smaller, and then we would eventually find the next odd man out. Maybe because they wore red instead of blue.

I don’t know if the answer(s) to our problems come from medicine bottles, a CBD shop, more fresh air, higher wages, kickboxing classes, no social media, no smartphones, no violent video games, or all or none of the above.

All I can say is that the first step in getting better is admitting we all have a problem.

Evan Grollman, Highland Park

After World War I, Germany was a democracy until it gave the Third Reich autocratic powers. Not only did the state control the media, but also the judges, the police, the Gestapo, and the military. Knowing what would happen to them, the German people were afraid to defend the Jews or criticize the government. Those working alongside government officials had to swear allegiance to the ruling political party, not to a set of laws like a Constitution.

Do we see similarities in the Trump administration?

Has Donald Trump chosen cabinet members who put him before what’s best for America, and never disagree with him because they know he would replace them? Yes.

Is Trump attempting to centralize power in a 21st-century U.S. variant of fascism, backed by a white nationalist ideology and largely based on Project 2025? Yes.

Did Trump fire the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because he wants to “cook the books”? Yes. Other countries will hesitate to invest in our nation because they won’t know what data is accurate.

Did Trump weaken the Bureau of Consumer Protection because he doesn’t care if his corporate buddies take advantage of the working class? Yes.

Has Trump laid off vital IRS workers who make certain corporations and millionaires don’t cheat on their tax returns? Yes.

Has Trump taken away “whistleblower” protections because he wants corporations and government agencies to have freedom to do whatever he wishes, even if it is illegal? Yes.

Did Trump fire 18 inspectors general whose job it was to reduce government fraud and inefficiency? Yes.

One way to end much of this is to vote in favor of Democrats in the 2026 election.

Joe Czarnecki, Dallas

On account of its relative proximity to the Big Apple, it is often joked that Philadelphia is the “sixth borough” of New York City. Be that as it may, SEPTA, unless prohibited by an injunction, will next week increase the fare its passengers must pay on both the city and the suburban transit divisions by 21.5%, from $2.50 to $2.90. As a result of this exorbitant increase, public transportation will be more expensive in Philadelphia than in every other American city but New York, where a fare of $2.90 is already the order of the day. Here, as transit riders dig deeper in their pockets, the characterization of our city as New York’s sixth borough may, at least for SEPTA’s passengers, no longer seem quite as amusing.

Mark D. Sanders, president, Philadelphia Street Railway Historical Society, Philadelphia

I proudly entertain out-of-town friends and family with my guided tour of Philadelphia. Besides visiting Elfreth’s Alley, Christ Church, Pennsylvania Hospital, the Italian Market, Fairmount Park’s Centennial Exhibition Building and the adjacent massive Civil War monuments, and various museums along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, I always show them “the room where it happened.” They are always struck by the bravery of the men who courageously signed the Declaration of Independence, knowing that, if captured, they’d be hanged. Afterward, we walk to the Liberty Bell and the President’s House, which was maintained by people enslaved by the Washingtons. Knowing the most famous American during his lifetime and a president, who set long-lasting precedents on presidential power, also enslaved human beings, tells the story of America, a country founded on the premise of protecting personal liberties and slavery. If one wants to understand past and current American history, one needs to acknowledge these unpleasant truths. The signage at the President’s House must remain, or we’ll be presenting Semiquincentennial visitors a sugar-coated vision of our country that is fake news.

Paul L. Newman, Merion Station

With the recent appointment of Emil Bove to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which includes Pennsylvania, our protections from an administration raging out of control are shrinking. We have a MAGA attorney general, Dave Sunday, whose campaign was funded in large part by Jeffrey Yass, the richest person in Pennsylvania. We have a MAGA U.S. senator in Dave McCormick.

We also have an election on the retention of three state Supreme Court justices, Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht. Democratic control of the Supreme Court has protected Pennsylvanians from the worst of the MAGA agenda, including extreme gerrymandering and the dismantling of women’s healthcare.

Why are Leonard Leo, who was integral to the formation of our current extreme SCOTUS, and Yass, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s biggest donor, currently pouring millions into the pending election for Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court? Because they are coming for our schools, they are coming for our redistricting, they are coming for women’s rights, and they are coming for the middle class.

We have been fortunate to have been shielded from the extremism afflicting the Republican Party, but that could end in November. Don’t sleep on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Trump and his accomplices sure aren’t.

Lorette Lefebvre, King of Prussia

A recent editorial noted that Robert F. “Kennedy, the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, continues to spread misinformation, undermine vaccine efficacy, gut medical research, and eliminate thousands of jobs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.” After years of providing the world’s gold standard of fighting contagious diseases, Americans have come to rely on the CDC to provide the best recommendations available for response to diseases — and the rest of the world follows suit. This trust comes from the proven integrity and accuracy of the CDC’s careful and thorough scientific research and public communications by its staff of dedicated scientists and administrators since 1946. Think malaria, measles, polio, Ebola, COVID-19, etc. As staff are fired, research is undermined, and misinformation is spread, it is alarming just to consider questioning the word of, much less the demise of, the CDC. We are abandoning a 79-year component of American pragmatism.

Wayne Williams, Malvern

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