Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Americans, vote your conscience

I read with great interest Brian Greenspun’s Feb. 16 column “Will America vote its pocketbook in 2020?” In it, he posed the question of whether, in economically good times as the present, we should vote our wallets or for the future and the world we leave our children, the state of democracy that they will be governed under and the social compact among our citizens?

Do we want to sacrifice the future because of an upturn in our economy when we face dire consequences of climate change and gun control — issues President Donald Trump does not understand (the former) or has bought lock, stock and barrel by the National Rifle Association (the latter).

Feb. 7 concluded the hottest week in Antarctica’s history at 65 degrees, and experts tell us immediate action must be taken or cities on the West Coast will be obliterated. Equally disturbing is the news that there were more mass shootings (417) than days in the year in 2019 — with gun deaths averaging more than 42 per day.

Jon Kabat-Zinn said, “We take care of the future best by taking care of the present now.” Good stewardship requires forward thinking and the recognition that we vote our conscience in order to achieve the greater good for the greater amount of people.