Domestic problems, not foreign foes, should drive our political debates

Dear Editor,

The Somers Record’s Sept. 11, 2025 column by Fred Cabral and Don Scott ("A political conversation without a winner") was commendable.

Cabral and Scott expressed their honest frustration and disappointment about the current American politics being extremely partisan. Republicans and Democrats can no longer have productive conversations on domestic issues in a productive way. They may begin with shared values and concerns but often end in policy arguments by rigidly adhering to ideological ideals that divide rather than unite. The authors are correct in observing that our growing political polarization is fueled by social media and partisan news outlets designed to provoke emotional reactions and deepen distrust between the two major parties and their followers.

However, the authors did not note that these two major parties are strikingly similar in their foreign policies. Both often use “national security” as an excuse to identify a common enemy - someone to take the blame of our failures and ineffectiveness in addressing domestic policies. We are told that “The enemy took our jobs, destroyed our manufacturing base, and stole our technologies.” In reality, our decaying and obsolete infrastructure, our shifting from productive real goods industry to financial capital manipulating industry, weakening military capability, and our underperforming K-12 educational system are our own doing. American students, particularly in STEM fields, are falling behind their peers - not only in academic achievements in international tests but in cost-effectiveness and educational spending per student. Meanwhile, American families avoid discussing politics altogether, fearing that such discussions could tear their family apart.

These domestic challenges must be addressed through bi-partisan cooperation and honest self-reflection. In my view, we must honor the democratic principle of majority rule and engage in civil political dialogue to forge unity and not to dodge and evade the issues and find foreign countries as the culprit for our failures in solving domestic problems. At this critical juncture, the priority of American political conversations must focus on domestic issues - improving economy, revamping infrastructure, creating productive jobs, improving education - rather than excessively foreign affairs or wasting resources on wars.

-Ifay Chang. Ph.D., former member of the Somers Board of Education