Election provides ray of hope

A ray of hope now shines through a cloud of fear, thanks to millions of young people and minorities who sat out the last election, but who spoke loudly and clearly in this one.

With the House of Representatives now controlled by those who actually care about the common good; committee chairmanships will change and we can begin to reverse much of the incredible damage done to our national esteem, our democratic institutions, and the environment. Committee subpoena power can now be used to investigate and prosecute the massive corruption and rampant self-dealing that is the hallmark of this administration.

Tom Price and Scott Pruitt are mercifully now gone, but we still have other incompetent and petty thieves to contend with such as Ryan Zinke, Betsey Devos, Steve Mnuchin, Ben Carson, to name a few. We can begin by ignoring and marginalizing to the golf course the most ignorant, hateful and racist person ever elected our highest office.

The constant spewing of hate and race-baiting, however, are issues far more serious than the corruption. Father like son. Arrested on Memorial Day in 1927, while marching in Queens with fellow white robed Klan members, Fred Trump forever set an example to his son, as to how racism could effectively be employed in society and then, as the son grew older, in the work place. Small wonder then that the son grew into the insecure and vindictive bully he has become. With two years of this man at the helm, we find ourselves in a country where thousands of innocent children are torn from their mothers, to be placed in cages, hate groups roam freely, and hypocrisy and serial lying is a daily staple. God only knows the full extent of the damage done during this nightmare to our black, Hispanic and Muslim communities.

We know that the heretofore unquestioned concept of the U.S. as the pre-eminent world leader, espousing and protecting basic human values, may be tarnished long into the future. But hope is not lost. This election has proven that a large majority of people in this country still listen to their better angles. They still cling to the vision of our founding fathers that a nation of immigrants can, and must, do all in their power to ensure that all people on this planet have the opportunity to live healthy, happy and productive lives.

Jim Lockwood, Whitefish