Opinion

Many Americans have this opinion about nature: if the whole is good, no part can be bad. The embrace of that value system is decreasing interest in rattlesnake roundups and driving many out of business. In Texas alone the number dropped from 40 in 1980 to five today. And all roundups in Kansas, New Mexico, Florida, Pennsylvania, Alabama and Georgia have gone belly-up or transitioned to no-kill, educational “festivals.”

Recent shark attacks off the coast of South Padre Island, just weeks after a teenage swimmer drowned in the same waters, are an alarming reminder that a refreshing dip in the Gulf of Mexico always carries risks.

The hypocrisy from the left about their obsessions for gun control, pro-abortion, children in cages, “compassion for the poor: and Jan. 6 are a real example of the Nazism that their party now uses to smear the non-Nazis, non-fascists, non-Antifa conservatives of America.

Letters to the editor published in The Monitor, Valley Morning Star and The Brownsville Herald during the week of July 15-20, 2024.

We join the many people who are celebrating Guy Bailey’s 10 years as president of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. It’s a decade marked by rapid successes and growth — and recognition by education analysts and experts.

Many people have expressed fears about the development of artificial intelligence. It is, however, just the latest in a long history of progress and innovation. As with previous advancements, AI will change the lives of many people. And if history is any indication, most of those changes will be for the better.

Letters to the editor published in The Monitor, Valley Morning Star and The Brownsville Herald during the week of July 8-13, 2024.

Having been involved with Palm Valley Animal Society for almost 20 of its 50 years, I have had a unique vantage point from which to see the organization in both its good times and bad. The one constant throughout my tenure has been our desire to do right by the animals in the communities we serve. That means working closely with city and county leaders to help their animals in need and form partnerships that are effective for creating a community of change and compassion. We realize that partners do not always agree completely, and through the years there have been times when our relationships have been more adversarial than we would have hoped. However, we have never lost sight that we must find ways to work together for the common good of both animals and people.

We hope this Independence Day brings all Americans together to celebrate our nation’s foundation — at a time when this country seems torn asunder by many of the same issues that led our founders to break from the British crown and declare our autonomy.

In our quest for happiness, as a society we may have turned down the wrong path, so to speak. We mistakenly equate contentment with consumerism, well-being with work and success with achieving individualistic goals.