Regardless of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s surprise announcement that we vaccinated folk can go mask-free, I’ll be wearing my mask here in Santa Fe and elsewhere in New Mexico for a good while. Why? To set a good example.

Nina Butts Santa Fe Fatal freedom?

Our political parties might each be defined by a single word. For Republicans it is freedom. For Democrats it is fairness. We as a country need some of each in our government.

Here is a quote from Isaiah Berlin: “Total liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.” A blend is what our legislators need to become more functional. But there’s no sign that Trumpian senators will ever learn this. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell won’t allow it. Being free to refuse vaccination or to wear a mask may be Trumpian but fatal.

Bill Maxon Santa Fe Cowed into submission

It is amazing watching Republicans in Congress these days. They are all sons (and daughters) of bird dogs ready to sit and go fetch whenever the master snaps his fingers. Some of these “dogs” — Sens. Susan Collins, Ben Sasse and Lisa Murkowski — occasionally have resisted the master’s command, only caving in when it became obvious that no more treats would be forthcoming if they continued their resistance.

Former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake turned out not to be much of a bird dog and gave up. But one other is still barking at the raised arm salute she refuses to obey. The rest have laid down, cowed into submission.

Patrick Porter Santa Fe No loss

I’m an old-school, born-and-raised resident of Santa Fe, and I support the decision to demolish the Gilberto Guzman mural on Guadalupe Street. The mural was ugly to begin with when it was first painted in 1980, it has zero cultural value, and now it’s faded, deteriorated and beyond repair.

As a matter of ethics, the property owner has the right to do whatever it wants with the mural. The concept of “social justice” is nonsense. Our legal system needs to align people’s legal rights with their property rights, and property rights belong only to individuals and corporations. Long live capitalism, the only ethical system for organizing society.

Ray Rodriguez Santa Fe Erasing history

It is ridiculous to me that a state-owned museum dedicated to preserving New Mexico’s history and culture would take down a mural that reflects exactly that. According to the New Mexico Museum of Art Centennial Campaign website, this museum is in a public-private partnership. However, it seems the public is not being listened to. The website states the campaign has raised $12.5 million for the expansion of the museum to the Vladem Contemporary.

The “public” of Santa Fe has protested the removal of Gilberto Guzman’s mural. Why would the public want to indulge in the vanity of an out-of-state person of wealth by removing a historic mural to promote the Vladems’ name? We should put this money toward preserving our culture and saving a mural that is part of its iconic past. I hope the Vladem Contemporary would reconsider and understand that removing the mural would invite graffiti onto a large blank wall and erase history in the process.

Rachel Watson Santa Fe Use it or lose it

COVID-19 vaccines are now widely available nationwide: About a third of American adults are now vaccinated, protected, and almost never have serious side effects. Many others are wary of taking the vaccine because it was developed so quickly. However, it is a cruel reality that millions of individuals in other countries — such as India — are dying because of the lack of vaccine while so many of us in the United States are turning it down.

This is immoral, and it must change. If you haven’t received your vaccine by Aug. 1, more than two months from now, our country should ship 75 percent of our doses to other nations. The remaining 25 percent would still be available in our country, but you’d have to look harder to find them. Please, get real and get the shots now: I want all Americans to live, and I want all others to live as well.

Bill Dingfelder Philadelphia