A turtle died today. The story of the turtle is an allegory for the United States of America in June 2025. The Turtle did not need to die. Someone drove too fast and was not paying attention and hit the turtle as it tried to cross the road in front of our house.
Turtles don’t move very fast and are fairly easy to avoid. It was alive last evening, its shell was a bit cracked, but we put it near some quiet water on some moist sand. This morning we saw that it had turned around during the night and we hoped that it would make it.
The turtle could be an American, a person born in another country, an animal, a bird, a tree or a pond. I killed the turtle, you killed the turtle, we killed the turtle. I learned from my dad that our most important task as humans is to take care of each other, everyone, no exceptions. If we are to thrive as a nation, I would suggest we take care of each other: the poor, the homeless, the frail, the scared, the angry and the hungry.
If we pause and look around us there are so many ways to thoughtfully care for people, the animals, the birds, the trees and the waterways. The turtle did not need to die today.
Ellen Gnaedinger
Norwich
An old playbook returns
In 1969, Cambridge Police assaulted protesters in Harvard Yard as they demonstrated against the government’s actions in Vietnam. Police had removed their badges so there could be no accountability. Now ICE agents are following a similar practice.
There is no reason why law enforcement officers should not display badges with identifying numbers. These numbers do not need to be published and could even be changed regularly. Then, the possibility of having a date-stamped photo or video corroborated by personal testimony would be a strong deterrent to the abuse of police power.
James J. Byleckie
Grantham
Cause for Declaration
Since the 4th of July is coming, it’s time to look at some of the reasons for the revolution instead of just the admittedly inspiring language. I have surprised many a person who does not know one of the reasons listed is the king was stopping immigration. The colonists fought to allow more people in.
Lanea A. Witkus
Newport