Your Letters for Sept. 19, 2025
Our children’s health is not political
All of us who have children or grandchildren mostly want three things for them: to be happy, to be healthy and to be self-supporting. The latter is somewhat mundane and targets parent financial relief for what I call children from age 0 to 18 as “spending units.” However, being happy and healthy go hand in hand. One can’t be truly happy if not healthy.
Those of us that lived through the polio crisis remember the nightmares of children in iron lungs. Then Jonas Salk researched and found an inactivated polio vaccine that was delivered by injection. Albert Sabin developed an attenuated polio virus that could be administered orally and all of the school age children would line up to get a sugar cube with a drop of the vaccine. In a flash, science eradicated a terrible virus via a vaccine. I’m sure John, Robert and Ted Kennedy were recipients of the vaccine and would wonder what happened to the genetic stream to afford RFK’s anti vaccine policies. There have been three (three too many) confirmed deaths this year from measles. All were unvaccinated.
Attenuated viruses were employed to vaccinate children for measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), chicken pox, etc. My son required me to get the MMR again when my first grandchild was born before I could hold him and I didn’t hesitate.
Can you have a reaction or die from a vaccine? Certainly, but it is extremely rare compared to the number that have been immunized. Remember you can die from eating shellfish or mushrooms. In fact, many more people die from food borne illnesses than adverse drug issues. Vaccines are scientifically well characterized and their safety scrutinized by FDA panels. The people who are antivaccine have allowed measles to return because of misinformation. I always find it interesting that many of those don’t hesitate to vaccinate their pets for rabies, distemper, parvo, etc. We can’t have politicians put people in decision making positions who don’t believe the science of vaccines. In fact, those people who don’t understand the science should surrender to those of us who know better.
America has, to this juncture, helped the health of the world because we have had the best science and technology and the willingness to help others. We know that we have changed from an American society to a global society. Keep in mind and don’t forget 2020 — when everyone all over the world had to completely change their lives because of a virus and that a vaccine helped restore those lives. Our children’s lives are sacred and we must rely on good science to keep them healthy.
Dr. Richard M. Schwarz
St. Joseph
Good legislators have an opportunity
This writing addresses John Byrne’s August 29 tunnel vision letter to the editor, referencing Democrats and the “people you are appealing to.” Byrne has a poor connection to reality.
Looking at several issues: Many Republicans and Democrats respect farmers and they are examining the present direction of the U.S. Agriculture Department. Tuning into the local 680 AM radio station on September 9, the agriculture program interviewed Chuck Grassley, longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. He believes that tariff “waffling” is not helping the American farmer, that tariffs on machinery spare parts is a “stupid policy” and should be reversed immediately. Grassley says calls are coming in from bankers about farmers in financial distress (reminiscent of the ’80’s), farmers who are looking to divide and sell land parcels, hoping to prevent loss of their farms. The Corn Grower Association states that they are in crisis mode.
Though Senator Grassley is from Iowa where farmers rely on corn and soybean crop incomes, in Missouri, there are similar distress situations. (For Platte City, I’m hoping there will be a re-opening of the Farmer Service office; it had provided excellent guidance/service for decades.) The damaging Trump tariffs affecting farmers does challenge confidence in top Republican decision-making. Example: Examine recent military actions. Trump’s use of aggressive armored vehicles with the National Guard in Washington, D.C. was vehemently protested. Contrast this to the National Guard in New Mexico where Democrat governor Grisham’s order was made in direct request from local leadership; her decision focused on a non-confrontational support task with no troops armed or in riot gear.
Whether examining farm issues or crime issues, I believe good legislators, both Democrats and Republicans, have an opportunity to oppose many decisions coming from the Trump administration.
Keith Stutterheim
Weston, Missouri
