Letter to the editor: Thankful for compassionate leaders

The American people always have looked to their presidents to offer comfort and solace when the nation has suffered a grievous loss. We saw it in President Reagan in the aftermath of the Challenger disaster; we saw it in President Obama after churchgoers were slaughtered by a white supremacist in South Carolina; and we are seeing it now.

I am thankful that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are leading us as we attempt to make sense out of the senseless: the slaughter of eight people, most of Asian descent, at three Atlanta-area spas; and the massacre of 10 people at a supermarket in Boulder, Colo.

We know our new leaders care, that they have compassion and empathy, and that they do not malign or hate those of other national origins, religions or races. It is what we need as people of honor and decency come together to reject the intolerance and disparagement of minorities that we saw within the past administration, a president who told Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by,” a posture which served to encourage the domestic terrorists who pose the greatest threat to our country, as has been attested to by the FBI and intelligence sources.

Contempt for Asians, Blacks and Jews has been present in our country for a long time. It is not going to be eradicated, nor is it going to be significantly diminished overnight, but we now can be proud to be led by a team that will do everything in its power to make us the country of our better angels.

Oren Spiegler

Peters