Given the current leadership of the United States, it may not be popular these days to praise and give thanks to America. At times, our political leaders have given some of us reason to be resentful, cynical and even depressed.
Nevertheless, I am thankful for the U.S. No matter who leads us, we are primarily a country of good people, values and benevolence. America is by far the largest donor to global hunger and relief efforts, spending billions a year to provide international food assistance.
While we often take it for granted, the U.S. offers much to its people that other countries will not or cannot. Programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, etc., are not offered in much of the world. While some services certainly have flaws, unlike many nations, the U.S. provides public education, law enforcement and care for its elderly.
This nation offers great landscapes and wildlife, diverse cultures and super-fast internet. While it does not always appear that way, America has a very good judicial system with a heavy emphasis on due process. This country also gives its people relatively easy access to the courts and voting booths.
Certainly, America faces challenges such as homelessness, income equality, immigration and access to quality medical care. Our leadership has caused much disenchantment, with some political policies appearing abusive. The American people must continue to push back against political leaders overstepping and threatening our civil rights.
Still, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, since 2020, about 1 million foreigners each year applied for U.S. citizenship. Over the last decade, the U.S. has welcomed almost 8 million new citizens from foreign countries. Much of the world still wants what America has to offer.
We should be grateful for our country. God bless America.
— Terry Takash, Western Springs
Stand above the noise
Some days, the news makes it feel like the loudest, angriest voices are steering everything. The outrage, the division, the constant noise — it wears you down. It can make you forget that beneath all of that chaos, there’s something steadier at work. Something quieter. Something a lot of people still believe in, even if it doesn’t trend on social media.
Most of us still hold on to the same simple values. We believe in fairness. We believe everyone deserves a real chance to build a good life, regardless of where they started. We believe opportunity shouldn’t be reserved for a select few. And we believe freedom is more than a slogan — it’s the ability to shape your future without someone else tightening the limits around you.
These aren’t abstract ideas. They’ve always been the backbone of what this country promised to be. And even though they’re being tested — sometimes pushed right to the edge — people are still stepping up. From neighborhood volunteers to the people running in major national elections, there are countless individuals fighting to protect voting rights, defend personal freedom and insist that every one of us still matters in this democracy.
The answer to cynicism isn’t to shout over it. It’s to move with intention. It’s to stay engaged. It’s to remember that the strength we share doesn’t disappear just because the noise gets loud.
That’s why we keep going. That’s why we keep showing up.
We stand up. We speak up. Together.
— Laurel Jacobs, Gurnee
Unraveling of support
I never felt fortunate for having been raised in the prior millennium, but in hindsight, I am extremely thankful. I look around today and see the unraveling of support for education, medical care and other social services. Trusted sources of information have been replaced by dubious reports on social media or propaganda in the guise of news.
Time-honored institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are part of a kakistocracy in which unqualified appointees have agendas that are not necessarily in the nation’s best interest but are political or personal.
Historical records that remind us of how far we have come and need to go are disappearing, along with a national ethos in which people helped their neighbors despite political differences.
— Jerry Levy, Deerfield
Clarity about legality
The current discussion about obeying orders overlooks an essential point contained in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), which all members of the military are subject to. The UCMJ requires every service member to obey lawful orders. It makes clear that a soldier must refuse illegal orders. No one in the U.S. military is obligated to carry out an order that violates the law.
However, this protection imposes a very serious reality, which is that the soldier refusing an order must be absolutely right about the order being unlawful. If the order is later judged to have been lawful and the soldier refused it, that refusal becomes a violation of Article 92 of the UCMJ. The penalties for disobeying a lawful order can include a court-martial, loss of rank and pay, a dishonorable discharge and even confinement.
In short, while the UMCJ requires service members to reject illegal orders, it also imposes harsh consequences on anyone who incorrectly labels an order as unlawful.
It is a heavy but necessary responsibility placed on those who serve.
— Al Zvinakis, Lemont
Lessons of My Lai
When I, a proud veteran of the Army, consider the idea that American soldiers ought to disobey illegal orders, the following words come to mind: long understood, universally accepted, too obvious to merit expression.
The question of disobeying illegal orders came up at the Nuremberg trials in the wake of World War II. One defendant after another, even though clearly instrumental in Nazi atrocities, tried to exculpate themselves by claiming they were merely following orders.
One thing the Nuremberg trials decided was that military service does not absolve anyone of responsibility for his or her own actions. Even at the humblest level of service, soldiers have not just a right but a duty to disobey orders that shock the conscience.
This point came up again after the Vietnam War’s My Lai Massacre. In 1968, an Army unit in Vietnam engaged in Nazi-type behavior, shooting civilians at close range, burning homes, killing livestock and massacring hundreds of civilians. Later, the Army charged 26 soldiers with crimes, and, in 1971, the unit’s commander, Lt. William Calley Jr., was found guilty.
In so doing, the Army admitted that an order can be illegal and that soldiers should resist executing illegal orders. Why now, in 2025, has this question become controversial?
I cannot help but suspect one reason: Because the man in the White House would like an army that looks more like the Wehrmacht than the American army that defeated the Wehrmacht.
— Michael W. Drwiega, Wilmette
Path to citizenship
In letters to the editor, I often see comments from writers saying that people who want to immigrate to the U.S. should “just follow the rules.”
I know, however, that the legal process is not as simple as making a request to the correct person or agency, and I know that there are multiple barriers to completing the process — financial barriers, legal barriers, physical presence barriers, language barriers.
Could Tribune reporters gather some stories about people who have earnestly tried to “follow the rules” but found it impossible?
— Thelma Hoogland, Oak Forest
Editorial wrong-headed
Aside from the fact that the editorial detailing the Donald Trump-Zohran Mamdani meeting is bereft of intellectual rigor (“That bizarre day when the ‘fascist’ met the ‘communist’ and found common ground,” Nov. 25), the Tribune Editorial Board’s assessment that any reader who believes that we should never compromise with Trump is not making “the right call” is, well, wrong.
Destroying the checks and balances of our three branches of government, abuse of citizens and destruction of our economy for the president’s personal gain should never be supported. If the editorial board truly believes all of that is peachy, I suggest changing the name of the newspaper to the “Neville Chamberlain Evening Standard”; at least that way, the board’s capitulation will align with the newspaper’s masthead.
— C. F. Waterman, Chicago
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/01/letters-120125-united-states-values/
