Observer Forum: Letters to the editor 12.21.15

I’ve had it with red-light runners

To the multitude of drivers who have forgotten that a red light means stop, I am sick of being on the road with you.

I know my destination doesn’t compare with wherever it is that you’re going.

I am only going to my next service call or home to my wife and dogs after a long day, but you need to be somewhere fast and apparently it is worth risking my life and yours.

And, of course, your time must be worth so much more than mine.

Your selfish acts put us all at risk and cause insurance rates to go up for those of us who actually obey the laws.

Profits aren’t No. 1 goal in health care

The high salaries and apparent success of upper executives in health care organizations, including nonprofits, seem to indicate that medicine-as-a-business is the appropriate model.

But this can cause us to overlook the risks to the community of such an approach. For example, a successful business does not seek to serve those who cannot pay for its services.

As we struggle to find a way to bring good health to all of those in our city, we must remember that profits and shareholder return are not the primary goals of our health care system.

Trump’s rhetoric fuels ISIS’s purpose

I highly disagree with Donald Trump’s notion that banning Muslims from the United States will help us in our war with ISIS.

At the moment, we are at war with radical Islam, not Islam in general.

By making this move, we frustrate the Muslim population around the world. This is what ISIS wants; thus, we are in essence fueling their purpose!

By preventing all followers of Islam from entering the United States, you defy the words of the Constitution as well.

The many reasons why I support Trump

Donald Trump is a sure-footed man whose countless business endeavors rank high in their success rates.

He always bounces back from his unsuccessful ventures with the fervor and zeal sorely needed in our next president.

He is able to deal with humanity at the personal level, and he is intelligent.

His ideas of protecting our country might seem harsh to many, but are best for our country.

For these reasons and others, I support him as our next president.

Anger, guns a bad mix; can’t ignore that

One danger I have not seen mentioned is the capacity for anger.

Anger can make anyone a little crazy. A moment of being crazy with a gun in your pocket can cause disaster.

The general public should not be walking around with guns.

Destroying history 1 monument at a time

Here we go again trying to erase the history of our great country. This has gotten out of hand.

We cannot bring back those who have been killed. All we can do is try to work together to fix the problem.

My Christmas wish is that everyone step back a moment, take a breath, and come together to stop the violence in our great nation.

Charlotte can, should do better on design

As a relative newcomer to Charlotte, I was dumbfounded to find that a city of this size has no architectural aesthetic review board and no requirement that developers provide a percentage of space for affordable housing.

Most new buildings going up are cookie-cutter in style and not particularly attractive.

Having said this, I have to admit that I like living in Charlotte and have met a lot of very nice people.

This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 10:46 AM with the headline "Observer Forum: Letters to the editor 12.21.15."