The dedicated work of these women in Colorado inspires readers
Re: “Sgt. Monica David-Vickery has been on the job since 1979,” Feb. 2 news story and ” ‘Mother’ of the nurse practitioner field dead at 104,” Feb. 2 obituary
Thank you for including the wonderful write-ups of two amazing women in your Sunday edition. It was so refreshing to read about Sgt. Monica David-Vickery of the Denver Police Department and Loretta Ford, co-founder of the first academic program for nurse practitioners.
Both are shining examples for girls, women, boys and men to emulate. We each have one life to live, and these women have made theirs count for the betterment of themselves and society.
Thank you, and please print more of these empowering articles, biographies and obituaries.
Tracy Van Woert, Loveland
What an inspiring story on Sgt. Monica David-Vickery. DPD was fortunate to have her 47 years of service. It comes as no surprise that she raised a wonderful son, Mike O’Donnell, to become a Denver police commander. I love that she once joined a convent and later found her true calling serving the people of Denver. It is also fitting that she spent her last six years on the night shift for the juvenile intake division. Those kids were fortunate to have Sgt. David-Vickery as their intake officer. I am sure she gave them a degree of comfort they did not expect.
Ann Moore, Centennial
Coping strategies appreciated in a time of political upheaval
Re: “Feeling political distress?” Feb. 2 commentary
I appreciated the piece from Jeremy Shapiro on dealing psychologically with political distress. As a retired psychotherapist, I suspect many, many others have encountered clients with this very distress.
Beyond Shapiro’s wise guidance, clients can benefit if they disassemble some, moving from generalized disillusionment or anomie to specific issues they feel a need to have improved. Take an emotional inventory. What saddens or angers you most? Who is being mistreated, ignored or underserved? Who faces a lack of adequate medical care, shortage of food or child care, or battles a lack of respect for any number of personal attributes? Include wildlife and oceans. What do you want to see improved? Move directly from an abstract angst to the concrete, narrower “wrongs,” if you will, that cry out for respect. What kind of action? Be modest; start with what’s doable.
Step out of your world for a while, help take charge of some mission and give. This encourages a self-view that says, “I can make a difference!” Give. An anguished, but energized client can help nurture a mighty inner warrior. The sense of inner reward is something no one can take away from you. Give as your values, time and physical capabilities permit. We grow from giving. Part of that growth can even involve a gradually thickening emotional armor. And an unexpected benefit just might (writ large) irritate whatever group in power that frustrates you most.
You have agency. You are effective within your chosen zone of action. And above all this, remember that others need you. Act. Give.
John Birkhead, Colorado Springs
I found Jeremy Shapiro’s coping strategies for political distress very helpful. His three strategies — “Take the Long View,” “Wisdom of the Serenity Prayer” (and don’t overconsume the news, which only increases distress), and “The Best Things in Life Aren’t Political” — are sound and practical advice. But there are some whose existence forces them to live with the short view, like immigrants and refugees and those in areas of war. Good counsel for them is to find in their daily anxieties an energy for solidarity with others, for resistance to evil and for works of justice.
And may I add two spiritual practices to Shapiro’s strategies? Let thanksgiving be the perspective you carry in your heart throughout the day, and let the word of God be the most important word you carry to bed at night.
William Kraus, Denver
Jeremy Shapiro’s commentary was thoughtful and helpful. He provides an eye of calm in the maelstrom of current events.
Two things to keep in mind, whatever your take on the recent election: It doesn’t matter who wins; about half the people dislike it and are distressed about the outcome. And, if you are happy, the tables will turn soon enough.
Stan Moore, Lakewood
“Tone-deaf” adherence to abortion stance
Re: “Democrats need a bigger tent on abortion,” Feb. 2 commentary
Frank Barry makes the argument that the Democratic Party could secure and maintain a governing majority if they simply took a less extreme stance on abortion rights. There is a yawning gap between “safe, legal, and rare” paradigm advocated by Bill Clinton and the current attempts to push abortion access for any reason, at any time, without restrictions or public health and safety considerations. This strategy is based on the false premise that unrestricted access to abortion is the only way to achieve equal rights and equal opportunities between the sexes.
If the Democratic party demands 100% fealty to the state and national party platform, it will be a small party indeed. If the party only listens to the political and donor elites, it will be tone-deaf and irrelevant to the lives of most Americans.
As a physician and life-long Democrat, I know that the current agenda pushed by the abortion industry in Colorado is neither scientifically sound nor honors foundational Democratic values to protect the most vulnerable and those who are marginalized or voiceless.
I don’t doubt that pro-choice advocates are motivated by an earnest desire to help women and their families. I would hope that pro-choice advocates would afford us in the pro-life movement the same presumption. The Democratic party should embrace those who share basic principles but offer a diversity of opinions on how to achieve our mutual goals.
Tom Perille, Englewood
Seeking law enforcement cooperation
Re: “Polis, ending the 2019 sanctuary law will make Colorado safer,” Feb. 2 commentary
I truly appreciate the full truths of this story, regardless of who might get offended and how. Law enforcement must come together on all levels and agencies to accomplish the common goal — to defend! It shouldn’t have to be a political game of tit-for-tat. We can accomplish so much more and even more effectively when we have each other’s back. Thank you, John Fabbricatore, from a concerned citizen wanting safety for our communities.
Bertha Martinez, Arvada
The absurdity of comparing Jan. 6, George Floyd uprisings
Re: “Two 2020 protests not met with ‘equal justice under the law’,” Feb. 2 letter to the editor
The letter justifies the pardoning of the Jan. 6 rioters. “Most,” he claims, “would not have been jailed or would be out already were they not Trump supporters.” He compares the relative few jailed during George Floyd protests to the larger number jailed for the insurrection, again, justifying the blanket pardon.
No one was jailed for supporting Donald Trump. There were 74 million of them in the 2020 election, and not one of those who stayed out of D.C. on Jan. 6., 2021, was jailed or even contacted. Those jailed were attempting to steal the election for Trump, convinced of the lie that Joe Biden stole the 2020 election. They failed in that attempt at overthrow but were guilty of lesser, but still serious, crimes of defacing government property, assaulting police, disrupting official proceedings, threatening elected officials, trespassing, stealing government documents and other offenses.
Many Trump apologists have also compared the insurrection on Jan. 6 with the protests after the murder of Floyd, asserting that the damage and violence of the one was no different from that of the other. Just comparing the motivation behind the two events shows the absurdity of this comparison.
If Officer Derek Chauvin had lifted his knee off George Floyd’s neck, raised him off the ground and gently placed him in a squad car to be taken to a police station, while protesters yelled and screamed, and yes, burned buildings, claiming Floyd was murdered, these comparisons might have some legitimacy. But he was really killed, while Jan. 6 was based on a lie. Anyone comparing the two sets of events has to confront the hypocrisy in this comparison.
Marc Lee, Denver
Talk about a false equivalent. Comparing the rioting, looting, and property damage in Minneapolis, which was ignited by police brutality and murder in a single US city, to seeking to overturn an election and thereby annul the legitimate votes of the majority of the American electorate is ridiculous. The lengths people will go to support that criminal in the White House is appalling.
Bill Starks, Arvada
Constitutionality is a thing
Re: “An argument against birthright citizenship,” Feb. 2 letter to the editor
The letter writer makes reasonable arguments against birthright citizenship. The problem is that it is clearly in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the U.S. and President Donald Trump, despite thinking that he was elected king, can’t change it by executive order. There is a procedure for amending the Constitution and it isn’t easy. Let the MAGA Republicans (and letter writer) try the legal route.
Gary Waldman, Aurora
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