As a teacher, I tried to focus on the good things about the “troubled” kids, much as our Republican legislators did in a recent citation to Donald Trump.
However, if I only praised these kids, and never addressed their unacceptable behavior, I would have been complicit in their misbehavior. This is what our Republican lawmakers did with the citation they sent to Trump.
I understand Trump is known for his vindictive behavior and they wanted to mitigate any backlash Utah would receive from Sen. Mitt Romney’s honorable vote. But they did not address the “troubled,” nor defend a senator’s right to vote his conscience. The things they praised are not praiseworthy.
Many of the regulations Trump reduced endanger our health — from the unmonitored release of methane, pollution of waterways and use of pesticides threatening the bee population. The shrinking of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante national monuments will open those lands to more drilling and oil exploration, with the resulting fossil fuels making our air quality even worse.
The tax cuts may have slightly increased employment rates, but they also favor the wealthy and have tasked the United States with unprecedented debt, a debt so high it leaves no room for infrastructure projects, health care or innovative technologies to minimize global warming. Trump’s measures threaten to undo one of Utah’s biggest economic drivers, tourism.
Maybe Trump has done some good things, but let’s stop treating him with kid gloves and hold him accountable for his recalcitrant, dangerous behavior and actions.
Patricia Becnel, Salt Lake City