Winston Churchill wrote that democracies are the worst forms of government except for all the other ones that have been tried from time to time.

If Edward Snowden was not forced to accept Russian citizenship, his willingness to become a Russian citizen contradicts his claim that he wants to expose infringements on personal freedoms and rights.

No democracy is perfect, but anyone who believes dictatorships, authoritarians and autocracies offer their citizens more freedoms and rights than democracies, have lost their ability to reason objectively.

Many of the letters to the editor of this newspaper would never be tolerated if they were written in autocracies, and the writers would be subjected to imprisonment or worse.

Does anyone really believe Snowden enjoys more freedoms in Russia than he did in Waipahu?

Robert Griffon

Makiki

Appalled by government inertia on coast erosion

I have lived in Hawaii more than 50 years, and I am appalled and disgusted at the lack of interest and action by both the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the City and County of Honolulu to resolve the ongoing rape and destruction of our North Shore beaches (“Illegal structures still erected,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 23). Who are they afraid of? How hard is it to put rolls of yellow tape around the properties and issue “no entry” and “cease and desist” notices?

If the owners refuse to comply with vacating the properties until all violations are corrected and fines paid, then proceed with condemnation by eminent domain.

The owners are murdering the beach and the ocean. Murderers are arrested, aren’t they?

Many thanks to University of Hawaii climate scientist Chip Fletcher for his unceasing attention to this issue.

Dorothy Pyle

Punahou

Input on needed curbs on firearms in public

Hawaii’s leadership in gun safety has been a comfort to its residents. In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to ease restrictions on people seeking to carry concealed weapons, Hawaii can most effectively protect its citizens and its visitors by requiring, among other things, more robust training, as New York state has done; and expansively defining “sensitive” sites where guns may not be carried to include places where children could be present, alcohol is served and large crowds gather.

Hawaii should also educate tourists who bring weapons into the state about its gun laws and require gun owners to carry liability insurance.

Equally important is ensuring that mental health background checks are thorough and completed before an application is considered. I encourage others to email the Honolulu Police Department at HPDLTC@honolulu.gov by Oct. 4 to make your concerns and ideas known.

Deborah Nehmad

Hawaii Kai

In support of legalizing recreational marijuana

The letter to the editor, “Legalizing recreational pot would not be wise,” is not completely accurate (Star-Advertiser, Sept. 22). Statistics show that the majority of persons who used marijuana before moving on to “harder” drugs had a propensity for using other drugs because marijuana is more readily available and less expensive. The argument for marijuana as a gateway drug has been debunked numerous times over the past 40 years.

Mike Tyson explained marijuana use best, when he said that if you put two gangs in a room and they drink alcohol, they will fight to the death — but if they smoke marijuana they sit and talk about music and their families.

With respect to tax revenues, we should look at California, where its recreational marijuana tax revenues have increased fivefold over the last four years. Medical marijuana sales can never be a large source of tax revenue simply because of its low volume.

I strongly support legalizing recreational marijuana use, not just for the tax revenue — but also, I would rather be around someone high on marijuana than a drunk.

Paul Schultz

Maunalua

‘BLM’ could stand for any number of groups

How can the letter, claiming that a personal license plate professes hate speech, be at all rational when the text of the plate may apply to many different “BLM” organizations that are operative today (“Hate speech is not protected free speech,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 20)? Among these are Blue Lives Matter and the Bureau of Land Management.

Is it considered hate speech to apply the same standard to these organizations that she applies to Black Lives Matter? No, it might be something unpleasant, but not hate speech. And yet the originator of the license plate could have been thinking of one of these other different “BLM” organizations when drafting the text of the plate. Since the plate allows only six spaces, there is no opportunity to convey any distinction.

The letter writer chooses to see what she wants to see. Far better to dispense a dose of tolerance and acceptance than to stimulate strife and division through racist accusations.

Steve Lipski

Waipahu

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