Opinion : Letter to the Editor: What a mess!

This country is in a gigantic mess!!  

*We have severe drought in the Midwest,

*We have flooding on all the coasts.

*We have outbreaks of tornadoes daily...somewhere in the country.

*We have had four days in a row of our earth reaching the highest temperatures ever. 

*We've had approximately 329 Mass shootings since the beginning of 2023.

*We have already surpassed the budget limit Congress and the President agreed on not too long ago.

*We've been forced to see our country's flag hang equal and next to a flag that should never be seen as its equal since the red, white, and blue already stands for everyone.

*UPS...Ford...the Writers are already striking or are prepared to strike.

*We still have an estimated 6 to 11 million illegal immigrants to deal with.

*We view and hear the statement, "No one is above the law."*  BUT, the asterisk is there because this does not apply to one man.  [Hint:  He carries two pocket mirrors everywhere he goes plus a small-sized can of hairspray.]  Got it?

I am the first to admit that I have been steamed and argued with many people after some of my editorials and other people's comments.  Step back a moment, and look at what's going on around us NOW!!    Our President is aging and falling apart before our eyes.  VP Harris is kept "out of sight" as fellow Democrats try to improve her image with the voters of this country.  [Maybe she needs to change her "salad" dressing!]  Former President Trump is still taking below-the-belt shots at Ron DeSantis when he should be taking solid potshots at Joe Biden and the Democrats.  [There is so much material to use!]  Not too many people are happy with our Supreme Court due to recent decisions.  [I get inflamed every time I think about my student loans that I paid back because my signature meant something to me.  It was the way I was raised.]  Everyone is arguing over abortion rights and gun control and school vouchers.  EVERYONE IS ARGUING ABOUT EVERYTHING!!!  It's always been this way, but I believe the stress of personal as well as our country's problems are causing people to become more vocal and more angry and more willing to strike out against others. 

When I say that the 1960s were a lot quieter and a more relaxed time period to grow up in, I am sincere.  No video games, Facebook,  cell phones, laptops. etc.  My friends and I roller skated, rode our bikes, went swimming, played softball, and got fresh air and suntans.  I read books.  [You know- those bound volumes with pages.]  My dad and my brother Bob fished and hunted...in season.  The biggest event of my childhood was when I was a sophomore...President Kennedy's assassination.  I saw my mother with tears coming down her face when Walter Cronkite reported that the president had died.  She was a loyal Republican, so I was surprised.  Other than this event, friends got together to play 45s and the big flat albums on their record players.  It definitely was not the "go go go" lifestyle that exists in today's world.  It is doubtful a time like this will ever return.

As I write this, it is a typical July day in the state of Iowa.  My big fan is humming in the kitchen, and I'm thinking that I'd like to live a bit longer to see how things play out in the upcoming election.  It's obvious that many of us will be disappointed.  And then it will take time for the dust to settle.

As I was growing up, I spent most of my time two blocks down on A Avenue with my grandparents.  They had a great respect for nature...fed the birds and the squirrels and so forth.  I think I was four when Gramps put a cracked nut in my open palm and had the mother squirrel "Sweetie Babe '' come take it out of my hand.  She was very tame and would come up to the screen door and look inside. One summer she had two baby squirrels.  The boy across the street shot Sweetie Babe with a pellet gun and killed her.  I had never seen my grandpa so angry!  He ran across the street to confront the boy's parents.  My grandmother cried.

Today, I was reminded of this period in my childhood when I saw the story of an American Bald Eagle being slaughtered in Pennsylvania.  The pair of birds had been there for decades and had two eaglets this spring.  [The suspect did turn himself in.] To those people in the area, it was a mascot.  But more important than that, the American Bald Eagle is like the American Flag, IT IS A SYMBOL OF AMERICA!!  How could anyone destroy this sacred symbol?  Maybe the slaughter of this majestic bird reveals too much about what's going on in our country today!!!  And it's a shame!!!

Peggy Kelley