President continues to undermine our democracy 

The Mueller Report will not change President Donald Trump’s fundamental threats to American democracy and our children.

The president’s irresponsible attacks on our basic institutions undermine our children’s faith in these institutions so essential to the health of our democracy: the media, the judiciary, K-12 schools and universities, the foreign service, the CIA, the FBI and the arts and humanities.

He deliberately exploits fear and divides out citizens by stereotyping foreign and American Muslims, Hispanic Americans and African Americans. Respecting and celebrating difference is the enemy of Donald Trump. Our president has no respect for a healthy civic culture. 

As an American Jew I am offended by Trump’s false claims that the Democratic Party is anti-Jewish and anti-Israel. Regardless of party affiliation, this weaponizing of bigotry is irresponsible and will harm Jews in the United States and Israel. His effort to divide the Jewish community is not very subtle.

Pandering to his evangelical base will not serve Jewish interests in the United States. The majority of American Jews and evangelical Christians do not agree on the meaning of the separation of church and state at the heart of living in a pluralistic society. 

As a man of no empathy who only speaks to his base, Trump is incapable of representing the entire country as chief of state. The essential need in a healthy democracy for rituals that occasionally unite our diverse citizens is missing from the Trump presidency. 

This is not the man to make America great.

Dennis Lübeck, Brentwood

---

A teachable moment 

It’s always exciting to learn about a new cultural event in St. Louis, the Benton Park International Film Festival; however, I was disappointed to read in the March 20 “News & Schmooze” column that films with Jewish themes will be shown on a Friday night with a $15 promotion for Jewish Light readers who only want to attend on Friday night rather than the entire two-day festival.    

Someone, perhaps the Jewish Community Relations Council, needs to educate the festival’s leaders that it’s a bit insensitive and inappropriate to highlight Jewish films on the Jewish Sabbath. I hope the film festival is successful and that next year, films with a Jewish theme will not be screened on Friday night. 

Rosalyn Borg, University City