Facing Arizona: In Trump era, civility toward government needs to trump all

Editor’s note: Facing Arizona is a series that will appear on KTAR.com and social media  — follow KTAR News 92.3 on Instagram and Facebook for updates — highlighting unique and everyday people across our state and give you a glimpse into their lives.

Hello, my name is Ken Flynn, I am 60 years old and I have been living in Arizona for 15 years.

One of my biggest concerns is the migrant caravans and the influx of immigrants into our state and the Southwest region. I love Arizona, but border security is still a black eye upon our land. Congress is not doing enough to provide security for business owners and to us as citizens and residents.

I would like to see a bit more civility toward the government. I feel they are doing the best they can with what they have and under the circumstances. I think the economy is the best it has been in quite some time. I know our company has been able to give several raises to our employees over the last couple of years.  This benefit helped them and their families a considerable amount.

I feel this country needs to shift back to a bipartisan mindset and stop the infighting and backbiting that takes place on a daily basis. Several issues are plaguing our country that will not be resolved by this type of behavior.

I believe we need to get a hold on social security and immigration. I know people personally and we have employees who are here under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. What’s going to happen to these good people, these exceptional employees? It’s not their fault they were brought over here by their parents.

I would like to see people continue to express their opinions but learn how to do this articulately and civilly. Acting childish or aggressively towards someone who does not share the same point of view as you solves nothing. A free-flowing exchange of thoughts and ideas, done articulately and critically, is what is needed.

I feel that all media outlets report based on their specific agenda. This should not be the case. The news should be published in the form of facts. The time and place for opinionated reporting are in the way of an op-ed. Reporting a distortion of the facts, presumptions, and sometimes flat-out falsehoods give a tainted and skewed perception of what is occurring in the world around us. — Ken