Noem 'does not want a history of this nation'; Shame on those who didn't vote: Your letters

Your letters to the editor June 4, 2023:

What 'real world' is Gov. Kristi Noem living in?

Noem recently penned a letter to the South Dakota Board of Regents, which is one of the most frightening pieces of work I have seen in decades. She says and I quote “Students have been taught the importance of diversity and equity and given access to safe places instead of learning to tolerate the disagreement, discomfort and dissent that they will experience in the real world.”

She contradicted herself in one simple sentence and apparently failed to see that. By being taught diversity and equity as she said you are automatically by definition taught to tolerate and to understand other people's opinions. By being taught 'equity' which means the quality of being fair and impartial you are given a broad understanding of what it means to be given a fair chance regardless of where you come from, what color skin, sexual preference, wealth, intelligence or any other criteria you fall under.

What “real world” is Noem referring to? Her 'real world' is apparently inside her church. She talked about how universities have “rejected universal truth and knowledge.”

These I believe are code words for her religious beliefs. She does not explain what a “universal truth” is. She said that students and parents are not even aware of the damage this causes. What damage, from where and why? Neom is not capable of explaining her own words. Is it because her reasoning is coming from the Bible and she is afraid to say it knowing that it would clearly violate the Constitution of the United States of America.She says that we must “teach our kids a true and honest history of our great country” she does not say what it is that troubles her about the way we teach now. But the board of regents knows that you don't teach anything about this nation that makes us look bad regardless of the truth or you will be fired.

Noem does not want a history of this nation, she wants a bible school cleansing of our teachings so that we can show our children that nothing really bad has ever happened. She believes that her god blessed this nation and that because of that we could do no wrong, that everything this nation has done was done with the blessing of her god.

− Brent Cox, Sturgis

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'The activisits among us want woman power, power period.'

For starters, I am in my 98^th year; I have served in another county voter registration at a precinct, counted absentee ballots (when it was not digital—all night), I have served on jury panels, attended monthly school board meetings for almost two years, purely as an on-looker, attended SD legislative sessions and committee meetings, so I know what involvement is about. I am a constitutional person as it is written and appreciate the obligation and right to vote.

Having said all this, and it proves nothing, where are the “brain dead” non=voters who represent a shameful lack of voter responsibility. I am irate over the 6% who showed up to vote in the school board election. And now we are supposed to trust the school board’s request for more money, more property taxes without accountability? The activists won this time putting in a woman who may be very capable, but she represents activism, national identity (I could gag over DEI) fulfilling a quota system. The activists among us want woman power, power period. Do the silent ones have no clue what has been going on in Virginia where parents at school board meetings protesting the indoctrination of their children, being ejected from those meetings, called terrorists and some jailed. Are SD brain deads going to rest on their laurels? Shame on my fellow citizens!

Another issue: I am tired of those spoiled, gimme gimme women who cry out for protection from the federal government so they can kill unborn babies. This is not for the law books; it is a moral issue and I have no sympathy. Bear the kid, already, and give it up for adoption. It’s not “your body.” God gave you life through the original parents on the planet who blew it and went their own way, as you are doing. And, the uneducated argument that doctors have to be trained on how to do abortions (so that will make it alright?) What do you know but your own ignorance?

I was married to my general family doctor for husband 49 years, he serving for 40 years in another county until Alzheimers took his memory. He was on staff of a Catholic hospital and no way were abortions performed unless it was a Solomonic decision to save the life of the mother if both mother and baby were in distress. The words “to do no harm” were ever before the practicing physician. May I remind you that in SD the Hippocratic oath has been omitted in the graduating ceremony of new doctors.

Item No. 3: what shameful demonstration through a supposedly reputable newspaper to scramble for “fair and balanced”, which it is not, a publish pictures only of Black students for high school graduations. The narrative of division keeps on and the worm of disinformation continues. We need a locally owned newspaper which will be fair and create debate.

−Janet Lyso, Sioux Falls

Editor's Note: Sioux Falls is currently the most diverse it has ever been and the school district is a reflection of this. The Argus Leader published multiple pictures of multiple students made up of multiple races and ethnicities for graduation, all of which can be found on argusleader.com.

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How to submit a letter to the editor:

Letters need to be roughly 300 to 500 words, and will need to include first and last name, address, city and title. Addresses won’t be publicized, of course, but it’s a way for us to make sure those who submit a letter are who they say they are.

Letters will run on Sundays in print and online as we receive them. There may be moments, however, when we don't have any as we work to solicit interest and actively rebuild this part of our coverage for readers.

You can submit those to News Director Shelly Conlon by emailing sconlon@argusleader.com or submit them through our online form here, which also is sent directly to the news director.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Noem 'does not want a history of this nation'; Shame on those who didn't vote: Your letters