Plastic
Though not too well publicized locally, July has increasingly become known as the plastic-free month since it was established in 2011. This campaign is the key initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation, which allows and encourages its members to work together toward a vision of seeing our world freed from plastic waste, and future generations inheriting a greener and healthier planet.
As the foundation grew in membership, with millions of people across the globe taking part, it has become one of the most influential environmental campaigns in the world. Membership is open to anybody who is concerned about our plastic pollution problem (plasticfreejuly.org).
A suggestion for a project that would reduce the use of single-use plastic and its pollution is urging your City Council members to establish as a policy the 5-cent fee for every plastic bag used in grocery and retail stores. It is a project that a number of municipalities in Virginia have been successful with.
Ed Marroni, Norfolk
MAGA puppet?
Ever since the questionable performance of President Joe Biden in the first presidential debate, much has become known about Project 2025 that some say will be former President Donald Trump’s playbook if he becomes president again.
Despite his recent denials of their influence, the conservative puppet masters know their puppet too well. They know that he is easily manipulated, breathes on flattery and could become the mouthpiece of the last voice that he hears in the room. And they will make sure that the last voice is theirs.
Our defense in this puppet performance? Cut the strings by casting your vote for democracy.
Billie Montgomery Cook, Portsmouth
Discourse
Re “A world of complexities requires nuanced discourse” (Other Views, June 29): The column describes a fundamentally important challenge in modern politics. There have always been, and always will be, issues that societies find difficult and that divide us, and the more compressed and complex our societies become, the greater the difficulty and division.
Joseph Chemplavil points to a number of current issues he accurately calls conundrums and says, again accurately, that we critically need to address them through “open, honest dialogue.”
Trouble is, though, we are losing our very ability to do so, at least in this country. We have retreated to our corners, substituted rock-throwing for discourse, starkly divided ourselves according to identity, almost entirely lost our honest media, and come to believe a bumper sticker is equal to a TED Talk. Too many of us believe we have a monopoly on truth and the “other side” is stupid if not evil.
So while I salute Chemplavil’s piece, it needs a second chapter. Not only must we recognize the need for nuanced discourse; we must have the courage to face the fact that Thomas Jefferson’s marketplace of ideas simply isn’t working anymore, and that unless we repair this part of our fabric, that discourse won’t occur.
William Waddell, Norfolk
Leadership needed
It is absolutely critical that our nation have no doubt about who is in charge. The U.S. president and the secretary of defense have tremendous authority to wield.
Recent incidents have shown the president to be aloof and out of touch, while the secretary of defense has had a period of absence unknown to the White House. Pearl Harbor was attacked on a Sunday morning for a reason. Our nation must have strict personnel accountability in the executive branch to insure our national safety and survival.
The United States of America cannot afford to be a rudderless ship. There must be a strong captain at the helm every minute of every day.
David Gangwer, Virginia Beach
