Social trust and our measure of progress

Social trust is a measure of the moral quality of a society – whether the people and institutions in it are trustworthy, whether they keep their promises and work for the common good. When people lose faith in institutions and in each other, the nation collapses. That has left us a broken, alienated society caught in a distrust doom loop.

I am thankful that we are here in the USA. It is a magnificent gift to enjoy. That makes our current situation more painful to experience. Every day the Constitution is shredded to benefit those ultra-wealthy in our society. The MAGA crowd is destroying truth, decency, national unity, their own (former conservative) party and even the world’s oldest democracy. They are punishing citizens to support giving away millions of dollars to millionaires.

FDR is quoted as having said: “The measure of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much but whether we provide enough to those who have too little.”

Will you join me in resisting this movement to destroy our nation? If you are not in synch, remember what Mark Twain said: “What gets us in trouble is not what we don’t know; it’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.” Wake up! America is worth saving and I hope you can find a way to express your civic responsibility.

Bill Biery

Sequim

Deep Gratitude

This month residents of the Sequim School District – spanning East Port Angeles, Sequim, and West Jefferson County – came together to vote for our community’s future.

Over the past year, my family has been actively involved in the Long Range Facilities Planning Group and Citizens for Sequim Schools, working to support the passage of the Sequim School District School Bond & Levy.

Throughout this journey, I have had the privilege of meeting passionate community members of all ages, each dedicated to strengthening and enriching our community.

With a career in public and nonprofit service as a social worker, I have seen firsthand that families, elders, and youth thrive when their community supports them. The passage of this Bond and Levy is a testament to our collective investment in the future of our citizens.

I am deeply grateful to everyone who took the time to talk with neighbors and family about the schools’ needs, put up lawn signs, shared on social media, attended the School District’s community forums to ask important questions, and to the dedicated school district staff who worked tirelessly to inform the public. Most importantly, thank you to everyone who showed up to vote. Your commitment to our schools and students makes all the difference.

Maria Zdzieblowski

Port Angeles

Treason against humankind

A friend of mine who is a professor at the University of North Carolina sent this text to me. It seems important to share: “Today a friend of ours where we now live and perhaps the most distinguished toxicologist in America, shared that 1,500 researchers and staff members were fired today from their positions with the National Institute for Health. While the firings at U.S. AID are an international disaster, this is a carnage that will endanger future generations here and around the globe for the research not completed and not begun and the cures for diseases and other health afflictions not discovered. This is a retreat from American world leadership in health research and treason against humankind.”

Just one day after RFK Jr. took office as the new Health and Human Services Director, members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) were told that they were among nearly 1,300 layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts at EIS have been dispatched for decades to investigate disease outbreaks in the U.S. and abroad.

These are just a few examples of a long list of government agencies that are being gutted by Trump and Musk. Thousands of people have lost their jobs and many of these individuals are the very people who work tirelessly every day to keep us, our communities, and the world healthy and safe from potentially deadly diseases. Isn’t health something we should all be concerned about regardless of party?

Leslie Saxon West

Sequim