Dear Editor:
I wrote this to The Villages Daily Sun on Friday. They have not published it They probably won’t either:
The recent commentary of Alyssa Ahlgren’s review of “Hillbilly Elegy” is totally off base, and frankly, I’m surprised you would publish such a total contradiction of conservative policies under such a thinly veiled racist diatribe. I am forcing myself not to address her referred to fish-like attention span, though I agree with her wholeheartedly in that respect.
First of all, does she have to refer to the “Left” in every commentary? I would love to see one column where she does not feel the need to further divide our country.
Secondly, the “Left” loves this movie! Rags to Riches is the backbone of the Democratic platform. This is the ultimate victory of progressive policies! Had the heroin addicted mother had insurance, she wouldn’t have been kicked to the street when she had a relapse, and JD would never have had to jeopardize his career by going to help her.
Apparently, Ms. Ahlgren missed the fact that the Trump administration through Betsy Devos’ attempt to annihilate education funding tried to slash $4 billion in student aid programs. How does she think JD went to Yale? The GI Bill only goes so far. I used to work at a world class university in Pittsburgh, Pa., so I know exactly how easy it is to run up a quarter of a million dollars in education debt, and that was undergrad. JD went to Yale Law School. Without public aid, he would never have gotten through the front door. This whole article is laughable!
In the future, I would love to see these types of positive stories brought to our attention through your paper in a positive manner instead of this hate filled us-vs-them commentary. We are all in this together. When one of us wins, we all win, and continuing to pit us against each other helps no one.
Drew Cline
Village of Marsh Bend