U.S. not only country with heated political dissent
Re: “Protesting the protesters,” April 20
The Tea Party is big news. What began as a disorganized, grass-roots movement has quickly become a political force.
However, of the three columns featuring Tea Partiers in the April 20 issue of the Washington Examiner, Cal Thomas’ in particular caught my attention. Tolerance of different opinions is a fundamental part of democracy.
My homeland, Taiwan, shares with the United States a very outspoken and heated political atmosphere. Currently, the debate over the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (which is effectively a free-trade agreement with mainland China) is especially virulent. The Democratic Progressive Party’s objection is heard loud and clear.
President Ma Ying-jeou has taken a page from President Obama’s playbook on health care reform and is seeking to engage those who oppose ECFA in a frank and public dialogue in the form of a TV debate. Hopefully, both sides can be heard and considered; that’s democracy!
Eugenia Yun
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Unlike their accusers, Tea Partiers are mainstream
One would think that people like President Obama, former President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid would have more common sense than they display by disparaging Tea Party participants as Nazis, terrorists, radicals, etc.
Estimating that some 20 million people have participated in Tea Parties nationwide at some time during the past year, and each participant has 10 or more relatives or friends who are aware that they joined in the demonstrations, the result is that 200 million Americans know that Tea Party demonstrators are not radicals. They are simply citizens expressing their displeasure with our government as provided for in the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Thus, it is the accusers who have defined themselves as the radicals — and therefore the political losers.
Joseph P. Carrigan
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Victim was more than just a statistic
Re: “Woman killed in collision,” April 21
I knew the “37-year old woman” who died shortly after the April 19 head-on collision in Southeast Washington. Mary Wimbush had been a preschool co-teacher to my son about two years ago at the Department of Labor’s Esther Peterson day care facility, run by Nobel Learning Communities.
Mary was a kind and loving person who was dedicated to the kids. Even with children of her own (she was expecting when my son was in her class) she seemed full of energy each morning. I don’t generally use the term, but she was truly blessed.
Miss Mary’s death is so tragic that I find it emotionally difficult to fully think about.
Daniel Glucksman
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