Letters for Aug. 18, 2023

Rule of law must be part of democracy

History repeats . Donald Trump will continue to have staunch supporters regardless of the outcomes of his indictments, trials, penalties and convictions. Richard Nixon, George Wallace, J. Edgar Hoover, etc., continue to have supporters to this day. That support does not change the damage done to American society through their machinations, nor should their criminal actions be forgotten.

Accountability is an American imperative, not only when damage is done, but by writing and teaching accurate histories after the fact. When lies, half truths, misinformation and disinformation are allowed to exist without accountability, we all lose. The rule of law must be not just a philosophy, it must be an actionable component of our democracy. Don’t let those supporters of falsehoods influence truth, they will slink away into the darkness as they always have.

Heidi Peterson

Spokane

Not ‘inflation’ but ‘price gouging’

I don’t think it’s so much “inflation” as it is “price gouging.” There’s no way that almost everything we purchase has to go up in price and yet it has. Some of those price increases are almost criminal, or should be.

So, where do we go from here? Not very far as it turns out. You see, in order to afford to live in the context we did before the cost of living drove us to the brink of poverty, the working people are demanding to get wage increases to keep up. To afford those wage increases, employers raise the cost of goods and services to keep up and make a profit.

Now you have a cycle.

Wages go up because prices went up; prices go up because wages went up.

“Supply and demand” is a dying economic myth. There are plenty of trucks and truck drivers to haul plenty of food, lumber, clothing, medical supplies and whatever consumers need, want or desire. The cost of gas and oil is the result of a controlled (read: manipulated) output by various suppliers to maximize their profits.

Housing? For the past 20 years, Spokane’s population has grown by less than 2% annually. Available rental property is sufficient, however, pure greed has caused large rental complexes to raise rents because they can. Fear drives renters to grab what they can, when they can. Sometimes renters are driven to live on the street. There’s no such thing as “affordable housing.”

We’ve created our own economic Armageddon.

David Bray

Spokane

Thank you to SCRAPS officer

I want to commend SCRAPS for their quick, efficient and kind service to our community.

Recently, I was walking with a friend and her two small leashed dogs. A large dog rushed out of a yard, grabbed the smallest dog by his neck, shook him and lacerated his neck.

I called SCRAPS around 8 p.m. and talked with Officer Dean. His first question was to kindly ask how we were doing. He went to the home of the owner of the big dog that evening. The owner was receptive and took appropriate action to prevent a recurrence. He paid the emergency room vet bills.

Officer Dean called my friend the next day and several days later to checkup on her and her dog. The small dog has recovered well.

Thank you SCRAPS!

Terry Smoak

Spokane

Thought hygiene

Solomon Asch performed some exceptional psychology experiments in the 1950s. His experiments showed the power of conformity when people sometimes agree with a group’s opinion, even when shown evidence the group is wrong. In the 1950s, Asch could not determine whether his subjects consciously changed their views or whether social cues unconsciously skewed their perception.

In 2005, Gregory Berns answered this question by repeating Asch’s experiment with brain scans. Berns found the brain’s visual center changed what it perceived to fit with the group opinion before passing this information to the reasoning part of the brain: So people “see” evidence that doesn’t exist and do not know their perception is false. And as this process is common, it has crucial practical implications for all of us.

For instance, if self-deception is unconscious, we must choose our company carefully. We safeguard our thinking by mixing with skeptical people who make evidence-based decisions and only use reputable sources. We must avoid the company of the deceived. A radio or tv constantly blaring nonsense might be enough to poison a mind. It also means we must show compassion when talking to climate, vaccine, or election deniers because, unconsciously, their brains may have “shown” them evidence that does not exist.

Let’s not assume people are brainwashed when all it takes for most of us is a light rinse.

Simon Smith

Pullman