Letters: DN letters: Yes, a right to protest, but Trump deserves a chance to prove himself

GROWING UP, my father and uncle constantly cautioned me about not being a poor loser. Although it usually centered around my participation in team sports, you and I realize that statement can pertain to an unlimited number of situations that arise in our daily lives. In life, you don't win all the time.

The election is over, and, because of the Electoral College, Donald Trump will be our 45th President. I have a great amount of respect for our Founding Fathers and the job they did formalizing and finalizing our Constitution and the "Bill of Rights" it stands on.

The First Amendment allows for freedom of assembly, "the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." I totally support that right for all of us. I believe, like most Americans, that if people do not peaceably assemble and participate in violent destructive protests, they should be fully prosecuted by our laws.

For the most part, the recent anti-Trump protests have been peaceful. However, there is always that small percent of protesters who show total disregard for the law and other people's rights and property. They seem to show no regret for their actions. They are upset at the outcome of the election. So, they feel they have to take their frustration out on someone or something else by setting fires, defacing or destroying property, disrupting services or other actions.

If roles were reversed and their property was being damaged or destroyed, they would have a different perspective on things. Where were such protests back in 2008 and 2012? Surely, there were a lot of disgruntled people over those election results. After all, in 2008, 46 percent of the popular vote wanted John McCain to win, and in 2012, 47 percent of the popular vote wanted Mitt Romney to win. Again, where were the protests? Republicans and Democrats sat back and watched and waited. They gave the president-elect a chance to prove himself or mess up.

Every president-elect deserved and received that opportunity. Our government's system of "checks and balances" is set up to prevent dictator-like power. No matter what you think, Trump also deserves to be given the same opportunity.

I have faith that our country will move forward and have always felt blessed, like many Americans, that we live in the greatest country on the face of this earth, a country with more freedoms than any of the other in the world and a country with 240 years of government stability. Since our government's inception, there have always been protesters with the right to "peaceably assemble." I pray that we can all work toward that goal.

Ted Frett

West Deptford, N.J.

Electoral College is fine the way it is

Leave it to the Daily News to reprint a nonsensical, biased rant from the Baltimore Sun to abolish the Electoral College. The Founding Fathers knew exactly what they were doing when they instituted the Electoral College, ensuring that all the states of our union, regardless of size, would have a representative voice in the choice of our president.

This process has just played out in front of us all, as two gigantic population centers (New York and California) favored Hillary Clinton by more than 5 million votes, more than enough to hand her the presidency. The genius of the Framers was the ability to look into the future and realize that without a checks-and-balances system like the Electoral College, our nation could be governed by the whim of just a couple of states. All 50 of our states had a fair say in the recent election, and the states went overwhelmingly for Donald Trump and his party.

Be careful when playing with a perfect system like the Electoral College. It was devised by men of thought and honor, not knee-jerk reactionaries choking on a healthy dose of crow and sour grapes.

Donald J. O'Grady

Elkins Park, Pa.

Lead poisoning in city is a terrible crisis

Something needs to be done about the lead that poisons our children, predominantly in the more economically challenged areas of our great city. Twice in just a few weeks, some of those apparently poisoned were unable to attend a social media-fueled theatre event and subsequently decided to seek alternative entertainment options. The Poisoned Ones massed and paraded down Broad Street robbing and pummeling innocent people! Behavior that can only be explained by an infection of the mind!

This gradual insidious poisoning has reduced sections of our city to a semblance of Somalia, where violence rules every interaction. Those that don't die from the lead from paint succumb more rapidly from the lethal and rapid injection of lead from bullets! The recent article in this publication on the latent danger and effect of lead poisoning at least offers an explanation to behavior that betrays any decency and heart.

Daniel J. Sullivan

Philadelphia