The U.S. has flaws. Here’s why I celebrated the 250th anyway | Opinion

Hope for the United States

On America’s 250th anniversary, many questioned whether to celebrate. The country feels divided, trust is low and the future can feel uncertain. Yet I celebrated because its founding ideals remain worth striving toward.

The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that all people possess unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. America has never fully lived up to that promise. But its greatness lies in a standard that lets each generation strive for those ideals and demand better.

That pattern has defined our history, from abolition to women’s suffrage to civil rights. People who believed America could be better claimed its ideals and insisted they apply to everyone. America does not fail when it falls short of those goals; it fails only if we abandon hope that we can come closer to achieving them.

I celebrated not a flawless nation, but an enduring ideal: that every person should have inherent rights and dignity. I celebrated the generations who pushed America closer to its promises. I celebrated the belief that we still have the responsibility and ability to make things better. That hope is worth celebrating.

Rob Batey, Puyallup

Growing population requires affordability

Politicians constantly sound the alarm about falling birth rates, begging us to have larger families. My message is simple: You want us to have big families? Create a realistic cost of living.

Skyrocketing costs make raising children an uphill battle. If it weren’t for vital resources like Head Start and ECEAP, countless families would be underwater. Champions like Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Marilyn Strickland fight to protect these early learning programs so parents can work and remain contributing adults. Yet, others pull the rug out from under us, like Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who voted to slash WIC nutrition funding for toddlers and mothers.

Lawmakers must protect the programs making basic living affordable. Otherwise, their rhetoric is empty. But hey, as a mom of five, I’ve done my part. The Republican Party can thank me later for keeping the future workforce afloat.

Alexis Cortes, Tacoma

Voters got what they wanted in Swank

A recent letter writer says voters didn’t elect Swank because they agree with his philosophy of policing, then adds that they voted for him because they were unable to determine for themselves whether there was anyone else better. That’s an illogical statement. Voters had Swank’s 30-year career in King County law enforcement to look at — it doesn’t get more transparent than that. They knew exactly who was the most qualified candidate.

Linda Siegel, Fox Island