Same as has been noted about Donald Trump himself, Heather Scott is not the cause of our democracy's dysfunction, but rather a symptom. Thomas Jefferson famously said that "an educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people."
I know 7-year-olds with a more rational, coherent, complex, and nuanced understanding of the world than Scott. As Daniel Walters suggests in his excellent reportage ("The Two Worlds of Heather Scott," 2/6/20), it takes vast amounts of money and energy to keep American citizens wrapped in a bubble of conspiratorial nonsense about how the world works, and who we should properly consider our enemies. The real conspiracy has to do with the capture of our political system by corporations, billionaires, theocrats, and the NRA under the guise of a Trump-loyal GOP. An integral part of this scheme is the capture of mass media in order to sell to people like Scott and her constituents a medieval and essentially white supremacist world-view driven by paranoia and fear of anyone who does not look like you or believe your same superstitions and dogma.
As someone who grew up in the former Confederacy and is old enough to remember both legal segregation and the ugly racist aftermath following Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, it is beyond pathetic to see an Idaho state legislator proudly hoisting a Confederate flag well into the second decade of the 21st century.
The sadly comical notion that more guns are the solution to our problems notwithstanding, I respectfully suggest that anyone troubled by these trends use their First Amendment rights to push back vigorously against Scott, Matt Shea, and all other fake-Christian demagogues of the far right.
Chris Norden
Moscow, Idaho
Just read the article "The Shea-less Shea Statement" (1/20/20). As a North Idahoan, I don't have to keep up with Washington politics, but I do. When I first read the investigation into Matt Shea, I thought Spokane would rid of him. Rather, y'all put your heads in the sand and pretended. Spokane benefits from programs the Democrats of big cities enact. Washington has way more programs than Idaho, so, if you are a supporter of Shea or President Donald Trump and you receive social welfare such as Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, rent assistance or tax breaks for owning a home, know that you are utilizing what people like Trump and Shea want to get rid of and you are just another "succubus" to their ideal society.
Allie Rice
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
