1. United States
2. Wisc.
3. Letter

I am a mother of two school-age children, a teacher, and a proud member of my community in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I am concerned about cuts to programs that genuinely help people both here and globally, and how dismissive our President is being in actions and language. He not only cut funding to aid relief programs, but was derisive towards those people and nations in his speech earlier this week. Only one example was specific programs in Africa that save lives through HIV prevention. Some of these use medical male circumcision to prevent the spread of HIV, which is proven to reduce that person's chances of contracting the disease by 60%. Not only has our President cut off this funding -- therefore dismissing these people as unworthy of our help -- but insulted one of the nations we helped, Lesotho, by saying no one had ever heard of it. We have an embassy there and I, as a history teacher, absolutely know where it is. He also mischaracterized this funding as being a waste or promoting LGBTQI+, which it is not. These are medical programs with trained professionals, trying hard to combat a disease that is ravaging all kinds of people in their nations. Please speak up for a language and culture of mutual respect for other nations in the world. Please speak up for accuracy of facts and a President who is informed about a topic before he tells falsehoods. Please speak up for the integrity of our nation, which is quickly becoming a laughingstock or worse, an enemy, among the global community.