Readers agree with the column by Frank Risch on improving civic engagement; support the new director of the Dallas Zoo; and praise the Rangers for winning so often on the road.
Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum Chairperson Frank Risch speaks during a media preview at the new Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum in downtown Dallas, September 16, 2019. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson is pictured on the left.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
I appreciated Risch’s excellent opinion piece. I was heartened to learn that civics instruction is included in Texas public school curriculum and agree that activities like visiting the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum make history come alive.
Texas law does not promote voter registration and participation. Volunteers visit high schools to register eligible voters, but students then graduate with the next elections months or years away, when they may live out of county or state, requiring new registration.
College students often discover too late that they can’t register online in Texas and must be registered 30 days before an election. If they are registered in another Texas county, mail-in ballots are an option, but only if they have thought far enough ahead.
Again, young adults at the beginning of their voting careers are also in the most fluid residential stage and are often unaware of non-uniform state laws. At the least, I would love to see every post-high school institution — colleges, trade schools, etc. — include Texas voting information and offer voter registration as a formal part of orientation.
More than civics needs fixing
Congratulations to Mr. Risch, this year’s winner of the Linz Award. He provides a wonderful road map to improve civic engagement, but it appears that school officials believe they are already doing a good job with Texas civics courses.
Look at some of the outcomes: Texans vote at a rate of about 25% or often far less. If we separate informed voters who choose the best candidate in their opinion from partisan voters, the result is far less.
Next, look at the way we treat each other. Treating one another with respect and compromising with them should begin in pre-school and be role-modeled by all adults.
We are currently seriously divided and treat those with varying opinions or who are different from us as the enemy. That’s no way to build a healthy community or state.
Our state officials treat immigrants as the enemy. Partisanship is rampant. We refuse to listen or compromise. It’s worrisome and unhealthy. How can we actually fix the situation?
Lisa New has strong credentials for the top job at the Dallas Zoo. One of the strongest may be that she is a woman. Studies conducted by the group Faunalytics have shown that women are far more likely to be involved in animal advocacy causes than men, far more likely to be vegetarian and far less likely to sport hunt. No matter how one feels about those pastimes, they do suggest that it is a good idea to make a woman the head of an institution full of animals.
towards greater care for the animals who are held captive within them. They are moving away from just displaying members of other species for human entertainment and toward helping species in crisis, while prioritizing the emotional needs of the individual animals of those species.
New certainly has the name and the ability to lead that shift towards a brighter future for all zoos. Hopefully, she will also have the motivation and support to make the Dallas Zoo a shining example of a kinder future, where zoos reflect a beautiful circle, rather than a hierarchy, of life.
The state of Texas politics
Gov. Greg Abbott states that next year he will endorse for reelection all of the Republican lawmakers who supported his school voucher bill. Attorney General Ken Paxton has gone on a campaign against lawmakers who supported his impeachment.
What has happened to the idea of voting for the best qualified candidate for the job instead of the one you have disagreed with on one item?
State Board of Education member Patricia Hardy, R-Fort Worth, doesn’t want children to think the world is ending tomorrow because of climate change. Not tomorrow, maybe, but what about 10 years from now, when young people will be facing consequences of choices made today?
It is the responsibility of educators to provide our youth with the information needed to inspire them to see the future, solve problems and prepare for what lies ahead. Textbooks are part of that process.
Denying human responsibility or the role fossil fuels play in climate change denies young people the chance to change their future with the help of science and real data.
Winning on the road
Being on the road is not all bad. Winning 11 consecutive games on the road is miracle enough, but who would have thought that it would happen this way?
When you hear such songs as “On the Road Again” or “Hit the Road, Jack,” think of our World Champion Rangers who found the road not such a bad place to be. The Rangers clearly destroyed the concept of home field advantage in 2023.
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