Letters to the Editor: Put the Republic before self-interests

EDITOR'S NOTE: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not of Ottawa News Network.

At the heart of our Republic is the belief that we participate in life together because we are committed to each other, to values, and to a goal that is greater than ourselves.

The goal we are committed to is framed first in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed …” and secondly in the opening of the U.S. Constitution, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

To pursue the goal reflected in these two documents means the willingness to give ourselves to the greater good of our community, to disadvantage ourselves and even to sacrifice our own self-interest for the greater good. Sadly, this style of life is rare in our culture of rampant individualism. We look to what I can get or how I am going to be inconvenienced or what this will mean for my family, without taking to heart our mutual calling to the greater good. 

Beyond the greater good is another bedrock of our Republic — that we especially look out for the least and the last in our society and our world. We look out for children. We look out for those with disabilities. We look out for those who our society marginalizes. We look out for those in the world who are hungry and desperate. We look out for those “huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” This “looking out” has been behind the idea of American Exceptionalism, which sets us off from other nations where we proclaim “liberty and justice for all.”

As we become more comfortable and more focused on ourselves, we have a tendency to betray these values. We betray our willingness to sacrifice and take risks for the greater good and even for those who especially need our sacrificial hearts — the least and last. 

As a people and as a city, it is my hope that we will regain our commitment to the deep goals of the Republic. That we will regain our commitment to give up self-interest for a goal greater than ourselves. 

Perhaps a first and wise step is simply to read again the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. A prudent second step is to make sure that our children are taught these founding documents in school and shown the pathway toward being a citizen and not simply a self-interested individual.  

Larry Doornbos
Zeeland

Who fights for you?

As Labor Day passes, we remember which political party secured gains for workers and continues to fight to maintain this landmark legislation and progress:

• Aug. 14, 1935: Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. It designed a payment system for regular monthly benefits to retirees and created unemployment insurance to protect families’ property and well-being during layoffs.
• 1938: Fair Labor Standards Act established worker protections: a national minimum wage, overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a week and restrictions on child labor. 
• 1939: An amendment expanded the program to include benefits for survivors and dependents.
• 1940: Regular monthly benefits began to be paid to retirees to protect them from destitution. (Over 70 million citizens today still rely on these earned benefits.)
• 1956: Disability benefits were added.
• 1965: Another Democratic President, Lyndon Johnson, signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, guaranteeing healthcare for millions. (Medicare covers some 68.8 million in 2025, and Medicaid at least 71.1 million. Another 7 million are in the Medicaid CHIP program.) 
• 2010: Democratic President Barack Obama battled for and signed into law “The Affordable Care Act” to make health coverage more affordable and accessible for the uninsured and under-insured. (24.3 million people are enrolled in 2025.)

Don’t take these important Democratic accomplishments and safeguards for workers for granted. While Democrats have stood up for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, promoted child labor laws, safety standards and living wages, the Republicans have sided with Big Business. Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill” was a Republican win for the Super Rich — not for workers.

Labor Day is a celebration of Workers. It is and always has been the Democratic Party that values labor.

Bob Bird
Holland

Simple question for U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga

In your long and varied political career, did you ever think it would come to this?

So far, you have refused to sign the Massie-Khanna discharge petition to compel the U.S. Justice Department to release all the material related to the Epstein-Maxwell investigations and prosecutions. Instead, you have backed a meaningless measure encouraging the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to continue its pending Epstein probe, a symbolic measure put forward by GOP leaders to head off Massie’s binding effort.

The president is refusing to release the names of all perpetrators, their enablers, and their clients, accusing your colleagues supporting the Massie-Khanna effort of a “hostile act against the Trump Administration.” And in complying with the Trump administration, you are following the bidding of a convicted sexual molester.

Why?

You say, “I have the background and passion to confront the challenges that face Michigan's 4th District.” Do you think your district’s children should not be protected from being trafficked and raped?

Are you being bullied and do not have the spine to defend raped children? 

Are you being bought off by powerful people for power and wealth?

Or, are you named in the Epstein-Maxwell documents? If not, then certainly releasing the documents will answer that question.

Whatever the reason, your refusal to support the Massie-Khanna discharge petition places you squarely within the ranks of those enabling child rape and defending the powerful and wealthy. 

Is this where your political career has taken you? Is this your legacy? Is this who you are? 

Joe Abramajtys
Jenison

Epstein and the GOP

One of the greatest mysteries in the whole Epstein saga is why most Republicans and Trump himself are stonewalling the release of the full Epstein files, especially running on a campaign promise of full disclosure in 2024.

I would guess the reason is that many prominent politicians, show business types, and business people are mentioned. The young girls who were abused by Epstein and Maxwell were trafficked to many rich and powerful men, and it seems the GOP wants to protect these abusers.

Maybe the GOP ought to now be known as Guardians of the Pedophiles.

Henry Idema
Grand Haven

Beware of voter petitions

Lately, you may have noticed petitions being circulated in the Holland Area by “Americans for Citizens Voting - Michigan” or “Committee to Protect Voters’ Rights.” 

These harmful anti-voter petitions would make it more difficult for eligible U.S. citizens to vote, primarily by requiring documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration. The League of Women Voters of Michigan, as well as the League of Women Voters of the Holland Area, strongly oppose them. 

Do not be fooled by the petitions’ misleading names. State and federal laws already prohibit non-citizens from voting. These proposals would entangle voters in unnecessary red tape, making it more difficult for all of us to register to vote. 

If you see these petitions, decline to sign! Petition circulators can legally say anything to get you to sign. Always read the fine print. 

In recent years, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved ballot measures that have modernized our elections, improved access to the ballot box, and advanced our voting rights. Let’s not derail our progress. We must keep our elections free and fair. 

We say no to deceitful anti-voter petitions that will silence our voices. 

Rose Southard
President League of Women Voters of the Holland Area 

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