Crossroads of the West
Once upon a time I had faith that with all the young, tech-savvy people moving into Utah, there was a possibility that the state could at least turn into a reddish-purple and escape from being a right-wing, anti-woman, anti-gay and anti-voting rights, bright-red state run by religious zealots.
How foolish I was! Outside of Salt Lake County, nothing has changed. It's frightening—if, somehow, Trump should get the GOP nomination in 2024, I suppose Utah would, for the third time, try to put him back in office.
Poor public education is one of the factors keeping the Bible Belt states in the GOP column. The more ignorant the populace, the easier it is to control. While Utah legislators have given token raises to the state's teachers, classrooms are still terribly overcrowded—especially so for elementary and middle schools.
The Southern Baptist denomination still rules in the South. And, like in most of the South, a fundamentalist religion—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—rules here in Utah.
Never mind all of the pedophilia, the cheating on federal taxes and a dwindling membership, the Latter-day Saint faith is still the powerhouse and tries to at least maintain the illusion of being powerful by ever-erecting gaudy new temples.
How sad. Utah is at a crossroads. It can go all-in on right-wing racism like Idaho or become a beacon for decency and common sense like Oregon, Washington and California.
TED OTTINGER
Taylorsville
"Water, Water, Everywhere"
March 16 Online News
Funny how Republicans hate the feds because of "overreach," as they claim—yet all the red states are running their own militant government controls through religious ideology over culture and social wars that are not addressing real issues.
JASONSGRS
Via Instagram
"Train Gang," March 8 Online News
Maybe we should waive transit fares entirely—more people would use the transit system, and we could expand the current network of buses and trains.
MYFLYINGTURTLE
Via instagram
I have been using the train on a regular basis for the past month, and it's apparent that our city, county and state leaders see it as transportation for "blue collar," "working class" poor people. They therefore think it's OK to use the service as shelter for homeless people and with little-to-no regulation for pet owners.
And as much as I sympathize with fellow humans who don't have a home, their problems are not resolved by crowding them into public transit used by commuters or libraries used by students. Do some root cause analysis instead of happily jumping to unsupported conclusions about [transit] price and usage.
I'd like to continue using the train system but will revert to driving if it continues serving a double purpose.
ADOLFO BV
Via Facebook
A ridership increase is what happens when people from places with good transit visit and actually use the system that locals don't take full advantage of.
KRISTA VANDERPOOL
Via Facebook
Care to sound off on a feature in our pages or about a local concern? Write to comments@cityweekly.net or post your thoughts on our social media. We want to hear from you!
