Letters to the Editor | March 28, 2025

I am a Canadian now living in the U.S. and have taught Canadian social history for many years. Since Donald Trump harbors visions of annexing Canada as the 51st state, here are a few thoughts for him. Canadian author Pierre Berton allegedly said that “a Canadian is somebody who knows how to make love in a canoe.” In 2004, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. ran a national contest to identify the greatest Canadian. The winner: Tommy Douglas, the democratic socialist premier of the province of Saskatchewan from 1944-1961. Douglas’ government introduced single-payer universal health care into the province, which became the model for Canadian universal health care in the 1960s. It’s impossible to imagine a democratic socialist being voted the greatest American. In 1972, author Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale) published Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature, and I take comfort in believing Canada will never be annexed to the United States, surviving all attempts to the contrary.

Allan Irving, Swarthmore, allanirving046@gmail.com

Under an effort to increase government efficiency and decrease spending, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have engaged in a growing number of so-called economic strategies. In addition to senseless firings, they have defunded or frozen programs that range from international aid all the way down to terminating the lease on an apartment for Secret Service agents who protect a Biden family member. What is next? Next, I think DOGE needs to examine support for Trump’s golf outings. I propose it decrease the total visits by 60% and end all games at the 14th green. That may not make any sense, but neither do layoffs in the U.S. Education Department or the Internal Revenue Service.

Joel Chinitz, Philadelphia, jjchin@comcast.net

A few years ago, my husband and I installed solar panels on our roof. We save on our electric bill each month and feel good about adding clean, renewable energy to the grid. Our neighbors, a young couple who just bought their first home, saw our panels and were excited about getting some for their house, too. But when they found out the price for installation, they realized that with a mortgage and young children, they couldn’t afford it. They are not alone. The up-front cost to individuals for rooftop solar is a formidable barrier.

Community energy solves this problem. It provides the means for multiple families to subscribe to a shared energy source, such as a local solar project. However, currently, community energy is not allowed in Pennsylvania. State Rep. Peter Schweyer and State Sen. Judith Schwank have proposed legislation to change that. Their bills provide for the creation of community energy facilities that would make renewable energy affordable to low- and moderate-income Pennsylvanians. Lawmakers should pass these commonsense proposals into law so that everyone has the opportunity to lower their electric bills and help the environment.

Wendy Greenspan, Philadelphia

When my 6-year-old granddaughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, making her dependent on injected insulin to live, the singer-songwriter Nick Jonas, who also has Type 1, became her hero. If he could handle this evil disease, she figured, so could she. Two years later, she testified before the Food and Drug Administration about the necessity of research into creating an artificial pancreas to save the lives of children, and quoted a line from one of Jonas’ songs, “A Little Bit Longer”: You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Shortly after, the FDA stepped up its work to develop a system to automatically supply insulin to the body. Today, facing devastating and haphazard cuts, it probably could not.

Surely, most people who support our 47th president do not do so with the intention of injuring vulnerable children or adults in crisis. They support him because he has skillfully convinced them he cares about them. Surely also, the ultimate threat of isolating us from our allies while praising despots has not sunk in. Supporters don’t yet realize that they, too — that all of us — are in grave danger because Donald Trump’s ultimate dream is to divide the world with the tyrants he respects and wishes to emulate.

History validates that a nation’s power begins to unravel as leaders encourage a violation of the boundaries of decency, and when concern for the well-being of others is ignored. Let’s fight Trump with a passionate defense of truth — in every possible way. In addition to our courts, each member of Congress who cherishes America’s founding principles must call town halls to motivate purposeful choices for action and involvement. Outreach to the White House and Republican elected officials must unceasingly convey that we are not afraid — that we refuse to be cowed, fooled, or pitted against each other. Because, as my granddaughter warned: You don’t know what you have till it’s gone.

SaraKay Smullens, Philadelphia

When did inefficiency become the accepted norm? Call a business and speak to a receptionist who is working from home. She puts you on hold while she deals with a domestic problem. Need an appointment with a doctor? You call a “scheduling center,” which schedules for several medical offices. After getting an appointment, and getting a reminder call, you show up at the doctor’s office, only to be told they have no record of the appointment. You go through the same process again, and the scheduling center has you for one day and the doctor’s office has you for another day.

You have an important medical test done and wait as they “will call you in a day or two.” Ten days later, and still no call. You call to find out about the test, which is needed for a doctor’s appointment in two days, and are told, “We will call you back in a few days.” Cancel the doctor’s appointment, which took forever to schedule.

Call your financial institution and are transferred to another department, and your call is dropped. You call again with the same result. A third call finally gets you to the right department. However, you are told the person to answer your questions is “not in today.” We shouldn’t expect perfection, but what should we expect? Not once, in the above cases, did I hear “I’m sorry” or “I will get this straightened out for you right away.” A shoulder shrug and “this happens a lot” is the only explanation I got in any of the above cases. Is this the accepted norm in America today?

Jim McGogney, Marlton, hiprofessor@gmail.com

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