All violence is wrong — now let’s solve it

Violence, whether political, domestic or criminal is unacceptable in every form. Naming categories may help us identify perpetrators, but our outrage and determination must remain the same for every victim.

Preventing violence requires more than punishment after the fact — it means tackling root causes before harm occurs. That means:

Early intervention: Supporting families, schools and communities to reduce abuse, neglect and cycles of trauma.

Access to mental health care: Ensuring people get help before crises spiral into violence.

Economic opportunity: Addressing poverty, unemployment and inequality, which often fuel desperation and crime.

Conflict resolution skills: Teaching communication and nonviolent problem-solving from a young age.

Community partnerships: Building trust between neighborhoods, law enforcement and service providers.

Violence is like cancer: It can strike anyone, anywhere. No life is more important than another. If we treat every case of violence with equal seriousness, and invest in prevention as much as response, we can begin to break the cycle.

Mark Bushek

Upper Milford Township

Students learning English left behind by government

Public education exists to ensure that all students, regardless of race, socio-economic background or creed, have equal opportunity for a quality education. With the Department of Education’s quiet retraction of a 2015 “Dear Colleague” letter, it’s clear that the Trump administration plans to leave English learner students behind.

This letter outlined how schools and districts should comply with their legal obligations to serve English learner students, and scenarios that would likely be taken on by the Department of Education’s (now lean) civil rights staff. While not a legally binding document, the retraction of this formative letter is an indicator that the rights of students who need English education support are slowly being limited at the federal level, where compliance relies mostly on civil rights complaints.

This combination of the lack of federal guidance and the reduction of civil rights staffing could result in the English education of these students being seen as subjective instead of necessary, which is antithetical to the goal of public education. As members of our diverse communities, it is important for all of us to remain vigilant on behalf of those students, and demand the same from our schools, so no child is truly left behind.

Christine C. Stofko

Upper Nazareth Township

School bus safety needs due process, transparency

I write to express concern over the transparency of Pennsylvania’s School Bus Safety Program appeals process. I submitted an appeal, with witnesses, to PennDOT after I was accused of passing a school bus while its lights were flashing, but it was denied, and I was fined without the opportunity to present my witnesses in person.

A system designed to protect our children’s safety must also safeguard due process. I urge PennDOT to adopt a clear timeline for appeals, guarantee appellants a chance to present live testimony, and provide written explanations for every decision. Restoring transparency will strengthen public trust and ensure qualified drivers aren’t unfairly penalized.

David Sweazy

Ross Township, Monroe County

Bethlehem employees deserve praise, thanks

Too often, public service is seen through the lens of frustration — nothing ever seems fast enough or good enough. Yet my experiences with Bethlehem have shown me how undeserved that perception can be.

In several recent situations where I contacted the city, I was struck not only by how quickly my requests were addressed, but also by the care and professionalism shown by the workers involved. While I won’t go into each incident here, the consistent timeliness and effectiveness of the responses left me genuinely impressed.

It is easy in our everyday lives to overlook the hard work that keeps our community running — the road crews, utility workers and public service teams who respond at all hours to maintain the health, safety and quality of life we often take for granted. Their dedication deserves recognition.

Bethlehem’s city workers are proof that good service is happening all around us, every day, even if we don’t always notice. I am grateful for their efforts, and I hope we as neighbors and residents take the time to express not just complaints, but also thanks.

Mike Harned

Bethlehem

Why Democratic Party remains unpopular

One question I keep hearing from pundits and acquaintances alike is “why is the Democratic Party’s rating so low?” It seems nothing that President Trump does moves those numbers. Now Trump’s ratings are low in many areas, and many of his and Republicans’ regulatory, legislative and judicial actions are despised by large portions of the population, but the Democrats’ popularity still moves a couple of points lower. It is mind boggling; or is it?

I can only speak for myself, but I think Democrats bumbling what should have been a winnable election is the main cause. Oh, I know, “it’s the economy stupid,” but prices are rising like crazy and barely a word from anyone about those nasty kitchen table issues. Kamala Harris just recently came out and all but said it: Joe Biden should not have run for reelection, and they all knew it. But not just that, their failure in all aspects of dealing with Trump in both the interim and post-election have been prissy, ineffective and pathetic. Trump was a known tin-pot dictator danger, and the seemingly antebellum Democrats wanted to walk between the negative campaign raindrops.

Save the Ivy League twaddle; a good fight is one you win.

Richard Hoffman

Whitehall Township

Restricting drug ads is a good idea

The recent decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to seek to restrict advertising of prescription drugs by pharmaceutical companies on TV is a welcome move. Most of the other world’s other countries do not allow such advertising and it is time that it is stopped. I will not hold my breath waiting for it to happen though because of the lobbying strength of the industry.

Bruce Wilson

Upper Saucon Township

ELECTION LETTERS 

Letters to the editor about candidates and issues in the Nov. 4 general election must be received by 10 a.m. Oct. 27.  Election-related letters will not be published after Oct. 30.

The Morning Call publishes letters from readers online and in print several times a week. Submit a letter to the editor at letters@mcall.com. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author(s), and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.

https://www.mcall.com/2025/09/18/letters-we-must-do-more-to-prevent-root-causes-of-violence/