Pride Flags in Schools, The Economy and the Planet, Leadership, Garrison Keillor

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Sunday’s article “Schools grapple with opposition to signs of diversity” makes it clear: The Christian right has successfully framed the issue by claiming that signs of support for queer students are political. At its core, however, displaying Pride flags is neither political nor indoctrinating. Just because a small group of religious people find it in their hearts and faith to deny the equality of, or even the existence of, queer youth is no reason to remove flags from any school space. Leaders must not allow religious radicals to impose their religious narrative on societal institutions. That would be a betrayal of all students.

The truth is that queer students often feel invisible, unsafe, and unwanted in schools. Fellow students, teachers, and administrators target these youth with violence and intimidation. When queer youth do seek help, they are often treated with indifference by the people responsible for protecting them. Because of hostile school climates, queer youth underperform in school, commit suicide, miss classes, and drop out of school at far higher rates than their straight peers. Yes, even today. See GLSEN’s 2021 report on school climate if you need statistics.

As a 35-year-old teacher, I know the positive effects a Pride flag can have on my students. It can’t be wrong to let students know that “we see you all, we are here for you all, and we value you all.” It’s the right and necessary thing for schools to do. For queer youth, it’s also the minimum.

Thomas E. Carlson, Minneapolis

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There is an old legal maxim “inclusio unius est exclusio alterius”, which means that the inclusion of one is the exclusion of the other. This precept is so common in our lives that we don’t think about it. The most common example I can think of is the designation of genders in public restrooms. Those spaces are usually clearly labeled with one for, say, women. Everyone understands that women are included as the ones invited into the space, while men are excluded from the space. There are many common examples.

The slogan “Black Lives Matter” has meant to many, “Other lives don’t matter.” Hillary Clinton was criticized when she said, “All lives matter.” Flags are powerful tools to divide people. Many new housing developments ban the use of flags, of any kind, because of the potential for alienation. Think of the effect of a Confederate battle flag in a new suburban development! Or think of MAGA hats! There is little doubt about who is being included and who is being excluded.

Schools should be especially careful not to elevate some people above others, causing some to feel excluded. This would reduce parental complaints.

John D. Sens, Savage

PROGRESS AND THE PLANET

Waiting to act until we have to act

Evan Ramstad’s column and insight provide an important perspective on our dynamic regional economy in which this newspaper plays a very important role. One of Ramstad’s recent Sunday columns, “Human progress is not the enemy of the planet,” was particularly illuminating about where we are in the post-industrial era of the 21st century.

The balance we are now seeking between sustainability and a healthy economy comes after a wake-up call about climate change and increasing extreme weather events. That was necessary to realize that we now live in a man-made atmosphere. In other words, we have polluted our own planet while exploiting its vast resources.

Fortunately, we have passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, created the Environmental Protection Agency, and taken other government steps to reverse the destructive trend we have been on. Vehicle mileage standards are another example. The Paris Agreement and the 2030 and 2050 carbon dioxide reduction targets are international examples.

I farmed in North Dakota for 50 years. My son farms there now with a much greater sense of sustainability. He says we dug the soil for 100 years after the Homestead Act really got farming going on the Great Plains. We forced native people onto reservations so we could farm their land.

My son has been no-till farming for 30 years and I am amazed at the way it has built humus and organic matter in the topsoil. Its goal is to improve water infiltration to absorb two to three inches of rain without runoff. Imagine what this would do to the water quality in the Minnesota, Missouri, Red, James, Root, Sauk and other rivers.

Historians say we are a crisis-oriented society. A look at the last hundred years suggests that this is true. We don’t act and implement change until it’s staring us in the face! It took the Dust Bowl to make us realize that we need to work the land differently. But as Ramstad pointed out, the same goes for the way we live in the city, drive our cars, or heat and cool our homes. It took a crisis to make us change our habits.

Thanks for a thought provoking article. That is a role newspapers should play in our community.

Myron Just, Minneapolis

The author is retired and worked as a farmer, legislator, and state official in North Dakota.

LEADERSHIP

A list of good leaders? Not quite.

Steven Schier’s commentary “In Search of Good American Leadership?” (Opinion Exchange, July 14) caught my attention, drawing readers’ attention to four different leaders who have attempted to steer us away from the extreme MAGA and woke choices dominating the news (by naming two Democrats and two Republicans).

1) U.S. Representative Dean Phillips. I agree 101%.

2) Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Check.

3) Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Let’s hit the brakes for a moment after her capitulation to Donald Trump on the primetime stage of the Republican National Convention the other night. She didn’t bow low and “kiss the ring” like so many before her have, but in my opinion, her hesitation disqualifies her from this provocative list.

4) Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. Sorry, I’m a little lost here.

McConnell deserves no praise or accolades as an American leader. I consider his brand of “leadership” as Senate Majority Leader to be the root cause of our current political mess, as evidenced by McConnell’s insistence on deferring accountability when the Senate was considering Donald Trump’s two impeachments (in effect saying, “We don’t have to decide this; the courts will”) and his conspiratorial rape of the process and embrace of the double standard that resulted in three Supreme Court nominations of Trump. McConnell’s lack of leadership in one sense and duplicitous leadership in the other has brought us to the very ugly American moment we find ourselves in: the abdication of the Republican Party to the whims of a would-be autocrat, and a Supreme Court that lacks balance and integrity, paving the way for the transformation of American democracy into the autocracy the autocrat desires.

Brad Pepin, Edina

COMPANION IN THE PRAIRIE HOUSE

Overlooking awkward details

As for the story and review of Garrison Keillor’s performance, there is one glaring omission (“Garrison Celebrates 50th With Aplomb,” July 14). There was more to what has been called his “retirement.” As uncomfortable as it is for the Keillor-adoring masses yearning for entertainment and solace through nostalgia, an investigation (by MPR, which had an invested interest in Keillor’s innocence) uncovered allegations of dozens of sexually inappropriate incidents with the accuser, including (in the words of the MPR report) “unwanted sexual touching.” She was not the only female employee to make such complaints.

I know the Star Tribune reporter is only interested in the entertainment aspect, and that the paper has no qualms about running a “welcome back” ad for the Fitzgerald Theater, but it would be nice if reality were included somewhere in the text. It dismisses the victims in favor of a kind of local hero worship.

Andy Waltzer, Minneapolis