Take off your tight blinders and see the diversity of the world

I recently spent seven days in the hospital for treatment of a serious infection. Most of the people who care for me and help me get healthy are immigrants — the doctors, the nurses, the woman who draws my blood every morning, the woman who cleans my hospital room, the people who bring me my meals, the strangers who cook my meals, and the many people who manage, process, analyze and report the results of my countless tests. I won’t say anything about the technician.

The day after the election (Wednesday), I woke up early and checked my cell phone to find out the result of the presidential election. I cried with sadness and shame when I learned that half of my citizens voted for a man whose campaign was based on hate and who spread cruel, vile, ugly and violent rhetoric targeting immigrants. I wept with sorrow when I saw that half of my fellow citizens were blinded and unable to see the beauty and value of the gifts that immigrants bring to enrich our societies and contribute to a vibrant economy.

Let’s each take off our tight blinders and look at our beautiful and diverse world with an open heart to those who are “not like us.” Let’s teach our children and grandchildren to appreciate the diversity in their classrooms, playgrounds, and communities. Like the Rogers and Hammerstein song in the 1949 Broadway musical, south pacific“Hate and fear need to be carefully taught,” he says. Children are not born hating anyone.

Ann Stromquist

Iowa City

Post-election priorities

Little attention has been paid to climate change during this election, even though climate change-related disasters threaten to disrupt voting in parts of the country. This is not the time to ignore climate change or backtrack on legislative advances. We have Rep. Marionette Miller-Meeks to thank for chairing the conservative climate group. With the Conservatives controlling our government, it will be important for this group to take decisive action to solve the climate crisis. We all see that heat waves, droughts, floods, fires and hurricanes have increased in the last 20 years. No time to waste. Best regards, James McCoyIowa City

It’s time to focus on climate change

I voted and climate change was my top priority. Hurricanes and other strange and dangerous weather conditions will continue to arrive. I want Senator Joni Ernst, Senator Chuck Grassley, and Representative Miller-Meeks to do what they can to protect our communities and our way of life. Best regards, Eric JohnsonOxford

This article first appeared in the Iowa City Press-Citizen: Letters: Take off the blinders and see the diversity of the world