Readers Write: New COVID restrictions, urban-rural divide, election results

Whether or not you agree with Gov. Tim Walz's recent COVID-19 order, he is doing what leaders should do: making decisions based on expert advice and what he believes will provide the most benefit, or least harm, to all Minnesotans. Many citizens have lost their jobs or have reduced income. Businesses have closed or are in danger of doing so. What can we do about it?

First, stop fighting among ourselves. If a terrorist group killed a quarter-million Americans, we would pull together as a nation. Because we can't see the current "terrorist," we see and blame each other.

Second, follow the COVID-19 order and guidance. Use a mask properly and practice safe social-distancing guidelines.

Third, support your local establishments to the extent you are able. If you dined at a restaurant regularly pre-COVID, think about this if you cannot order take out. Perhaps two dinners cost you $60. Purchase the same items and prepare them yourself — that may cost you $30. Support the restaurant with $20, and you have just saved $10.

Fourth, stay mentally and physically active. There are hundreds of hours of free fitness videos online including cardio, yoga and meditation. Purchase a $60 weight set. Subtract the cost of your weights from what your normal gym fees would be and donate the rest to the gym.

C'mon people, we got this. Be a leader and do what provides the most benefit, or least harm, to all Minnesotans.

If the Walz administration is going to dictate that thousands of Minnesotans lose their livelihoods, then I suggest he and his bureaucrats go without pay until the lockdown is lifted.

The election is over; it is time to join together to attack our problems rather than trying to win political points. It is easy for Minnesotans to complain about the restrictions that the governor has put in place. We should face the facts that these severe restrictions may not have been necessary if we had followed the recommendations of the experts earlier. If we had worn our masks, if we had avoided large gatherings, if we had practiced social distancing, then maybe today these distressing restrictions might not be necessary.

I am a believer in a two- or multiparty system, but the Republican Party has in recent times failed to serve the citizens of this state and nation. They have ignored and attacked the recommendations of experts for dealing with COVID and are now suffering the consequences in the spread of the disease in their caucus. We only have to look at our neighbors South Dakota and North Dakota to see where ignoring the recommendations of medical experts can lead.

As someone who has loved and played both competitive team and individual sports most of my life, I understand how important they become to participants. I don't understand, however, the angst occurring (especially with parents) on the four-week closure of organized youth sports. Kudos to Centennial football coach Mike Diggins for his recent comment knowing their season might be coming to a close: "If this is the worst thing these kids face in life, they're going to have a great life." Thank you, Mr. Diggins, for putting this in perspective as our medical staff are working around the clock to keep people alive.

We keep hearing how the "elite" big-city liberals need to listen to their rural and small-town counterparts ("City folk have much to learn about country folk," Opinion Exchange, Nov. 19). But a little background might help the conversation. Like many in the metro, I grew up in a small community with a vibrant Main Street and many family farms. Then Walmart and other big boxes wiped out business owners, and factory farms replaced the type of one-man dairy operation my dad ran. So, many of us left for opportunities in the big cities; many others stayed put. Now we're told they feel "left behind" and "left out" of the changing economy, even though they themselves chose to stay behind. That's their right, of course, but not justification for being aggrieved and angry and blaming others for the world moving on. So, how about they open themselves to ask what makes the metro such a great place? Learn that a multicultural neighborhood with transit and access to sports, museums, good jobs, an international airport, universities, and yes, coffee shops is a good place to live. Listening is two-way.

When President Donald Trump loses, he sees fraud everywhere but in the mirror. He claims the 2020 election was rigged even though Joe Biden is projected to receive 306 electoral votes, the same number Trump won in 2016 (before two faithless electors voted for other candidates) and claimed was a "massive landslide." The election was supposedly stolen even though Biden is approaching 6 million more votes than Trump.

The American people have spoken and the rule of law is intact. Trump's tempest-tossed tweets and scotched lawsuits, in the end, are "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Biden is president-elect.

I was saddened to read that Minnesota Republican Party Chair Jennifer Carnahan was continuing to support Trump's baseless effort to delegitimize the election.

I can understand Trump's behavior. He is a damaged human being, raised in a toxic environment with little chance of becoming a healthy adult. Carnahan has no such excuse. She encourages Minnesotans to drink Trump's Kool-Aid knowing it is poison and is harming our society.

I was raised in a time and home where Republican allegiance was not so shameful that people felt the need to lie to poll-takers. In a life of public service, I often worked with Republicans like Bill Frenzel, Dave Durenberger, Randy Johnson, Mary Forsythe and Jim Ramstad. We sometimes disagreed but found common ground and improved our state in areas like consumer protection, housing, domestic violence, access to justice and disability rights. They would seemingly not belong in Carnahan's version of the Republican Party. My family would not recognize it or vote for it, though I grew up with National Review on our coffee table.

Though not a Republican, I know our communities would be better with healthy political parties that disagree without demonizing and that work together for the people. Carnahan preaches a failed Trumpian message. Unless her party rejects this, it will continue to turn off young voters. That benefits the DFL but is unhealthy for our state. Republican leaders and elected officials, speak clearly now or be complicit in this effort to destroy our democracy.