Narrows project has taken far too long to complete

I’m not sure we should be celebrating the near-completion of the 16-mile-long Marin-Sonoma Narrows widening project, considering it took 14 years of construction and about as many years of planning.

For comparison, the Golden Gate Bridge took four years to build. Hoover Dam took five. The Panama Canal, started in 1904, took 19. The Erie Canal, started in 1817, took eight. The Transcontinental Railway, started in 1863, took six. And the Roman Colosseum, started in the year 72, took eight. More recently, China’s 26,000-mile high-speed rail system has taken 15 years to build and is still expanding.

There is nothing to celebrate about the time it took to complete the Narrows expansion, nor will there be for forthcoming work on Highway 37, which I expect will also take way too long.

That we are unable to compete with the Romans is a disgrace. That we, as citizens, tolerate and normalize such failure and incompetence is beyond my comprehension.

Author Dan Wang tackles the issue in his book titled “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future.” One problem Wang points to is that the U.S. is a nation seemingly run by lawyers. In the past, we were engineers — just like the Romans were then and the Chinese are today.

— Chet Seligman, Point Reyes Station

Protect those who refuse to relinquish power to petty

As pastor at Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church in Marin City, I respectfully pray for the courageous individuals who will not be intimidated by threats, deterred by inconvenience or placated by the misguided notion of prudence and etiquette.

I pray that these courageous individuals heed the words of Mordecai (from the Bible’s Book of Ester): “Perhaps you have arisen for such a time as this.”

May our values and faith transcend the dictates of any individual or the mandates of a self-serving culture. May the vitriol of tyrants be met with the virtue of ordinary citizens who refuse to relinquish power to the petty. May we awaken from our slumber of indifference and/or prideful embarrassment for allowing the situation to deteriorate.

May we all strive to protect the vulnerable, promote goodwill toward all and engage in the courageous endeavor of establishing a more perfect union, redressing historical injustices and creating pathways to health and happiness for all.

This is my prayer for every soldier, law enforcement official and politician. This is how we ensure their safety and our liberty.

— The Rev. Floyd Thompkins, Novato

Elected official’s Prop. 50 pitch was not convincing

I read Assemblymember Damon Connolly’s recently published Marin Voice commentary (“Assemblymember lays out case for Prop. 50,” Sept. 21) regarding his co-authoring and support of Proposition 50 with interest.

The proposal on the Nov. 4 special election ballot would temporarily bypass the voter-approved independent commission which draws California’s congressional districts maps. The purpose of the bypass is to counter Texas’s redistricting efforts, which may add five additional Republican districts in that state.

From my perspective, Connolly, who I respect and have voted for, implies that the interest of the California Democratic Party should override the interest of all others in our state. Democrats control 43 of the districts and the Republicans 10. The Democrats have now redrawn the congressional maps in hopes of adding five more districts to their total. That would give the Democrats 48 districts and reduce the Republican total to five. The Democrats would control 90.5% of the districts, despite only representing 45.3% of the voter registration.

How is that fair to all the citizens of our state? What will politicians try if states other than Texas also make changes to possibly add Republican districts to their states? I worry California Democrats could once again redraw our maps to add even more Democrat districts to California, leaving Republicans and independent voters with no representation.

It is estimated the amount of money that will be spent on Proposition 50 may exceed $200 million. That is an astronomical amount of money for five congressional districts. That money would be better used to increase teacher salaries, provide housing for our veterans (as well as others in need) and to give free tuition for junior college students.

Proposition 50 is unfair to a sizable portion of the California voters who are having their districts gerrymandered once again to benefit one party.

— Mike Allen, San Rafael