Editorials / Opinion

Angels as American as apple pie

The Blue Angels perform for an audience of thousands on Seafair weekend, August 5, 2012. The Angels may not perform at the event this year. (JORDAN STEAD/THE SEATTLE TIMES)

It saddens me that there is a strong possibility that we will not have a Blue Angels show this year at Seafair, so I couldn’t possibly disagree more with the letter writers who have basically said “good riddance” to this longtime Seattle summer tradition [“Blue Angels Seafair show, others, expected to be canceled,” Northwest Voices, March 5].

It’s true that our spending priorities are way out of whack and that the $20 million cost for the Blue Angels could be better spent elsewhere, but I have a some sensible solutions to fund the show. Why not keep an aircraft carrier in port for an extra couple of days? Why not keep the C-17s that fly out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord on the ground for a week? Why not take $20 million (at least) out of the billion-dollar aid checks we write to countries that hate us?

The Blue Angels are as American as apple pie and the Fourth of July. Patriotism abounds and Americans come together when these F/A-18s are ripping over Lake Washington at 500 mph. I know that the tens of thousands of spectators who attend this exhibition of American grace and power agree with me.

Quiet skies during Seafair would only serve to remind us of the collective ineptitude of our elected officials in Washington D.C. As for those of you who complain annually about the noise and interruption to your life for those few days a year, I say get over it and come join the party.

–Gary Allen, Tacoma

Other potential budget cuts have more significant impact

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels navigate together, Aug. 4, last year at Seafair in Seattle. Due to automatic federal funding cuts, the Angels may not perform at Seafair this year. (JORDAN STEAD/THE SEATTLE TIMES)

As President Obama said, people are going to be hurt by the consequences of the sequester. Not seeing the Blue Angels will no doubt be a big disappointment for some, but I’m not sure that compares with the hurt that will be felt by children and families in poverty, our schools, educational and research institutions and much more [“Blue Angels grounded? Seafair plans for worst,” page one, March 2].

I’m disappointed that The Times would consider “Blue Angels grounded?” a front-page story in light of the real hurt that is likely coming. Again, as President Obama said, how “dumb.”

–Rhonda Bierma, Seattle

Questionable source of entertainment

If the budget crisis kills the Blue Angels, good riddance. They’re hardly a national priority. They’re a waste of taxpayers’ money and the military shouldn’t be in the entertainment business.

–Don Glickstein, Seattle

Angels create illusion of ‘war zone’

A front-page headline on Sunday, March 2, reads, “Blue Angels grounded? Seafair plans for worst.” Because I live under the Blue Angels’ annual flight path, grounding the planes seems like the “best” rather than the “worst” for me.

For five days every summer, I endure the planes’ rumbling as my house shakes. I worry about those who have survived real war, since it feels to me like I am in a war zone and my home is being strafed. Blue Angels grounded? I hope so.

–Mary Edwards, Seattle