I’m a Kamala Harris voter who wants to see all of Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks confirmed. Karl Marx said that capitalism has the seeds of its own destruction. I have never agreed with that sentiment, but I do believe that Trumpism carries the seeds of its own destruction. Those who constrained him during his first term did not allow those seeds to fully bloom, and here we are four years later. My advice to fellow Democrats is to lie back and let him have anything that he wants, short of canceling elections. — Gene Sweet, Chicago Government efficiency guru So Donald Trump is creating a new department, the Department of Government Efficiency? Are we saving money yet? Now we have to get office space, hire staff and, of course, pay Elon Musk to run it. I don’t suppose Musk will be doing this for free, will he? As a sign of his great patriotism? Maybe, knowing he is being paid out of my Social Security, he might accept minimum wage! — Marilynn Weis, Grayslake Don’t foster discrimination What is Donald Trump nominee Pete Hegseth thinking? He shouts that American women are not qualified to serve in combat. Modern warfare does not involve hand-to-hand combat, if he imagines women are physically weaker than men. What our country needs is well-trained and disciplined servicemen and servicewomen. The secretary of defense is to be loyal to our Constitution — country over party. To make the military strong and combat-ready, he should quell sexual discrimination in the military. — Tien C. Cheng, Chicago Democrats should move on The election was two weeks ago, and yet, the Democrats are still whining about why they lost and issuing extreme doom-and-gloom predictions of what President Donald Trump will do in office. Will it be business as usual like the last four years in this country? Of course not, but that is what happens when your candidate loses. When Joe Biden won four years ago and when Barack Obama won in 2008, half the country was extremely disappointed, but I don’t remember anyone threatening to leave the country or colleges giving student days off to “recover” from the election results. Trump has already made some very good picks for various Cabinet positions, which bodes well for us. For the Democrats, time to suck it up, move on and give Trump a chance. — Mike Kirchberg, Chicago Democrats, look in the mirror Articles are putting the cause of Kamala Harris’ loss on her gender. I would like to point the cause in another direction, at the fact that some Democratic politicians decided President Joe Biden was not strong enough to beat his opponent, the same person he beat the last time they competed. It seems they made their decision based on one TV debate in which their candidate didn’t perform to their liking. It is no wonder why Democratic leaders had such a poor showing in this election when they did not support the leader of their own party, even though they had previously indicated their overwhelming support for him. — Tom Keating, Chicago Help nation move forward Some liberals doubt our new president’s capability to solve the crime and immigration problems that exist. Thank you to J. Marcos Peterson for his excellent op-ed last week (“I am a Mexican American who voted for Trump. No, I don’t hate myself.,” Nov. 13). It is eloquent and hopeful. Just like Peterson, I am willing to believe that Donald Trump will act swiftly to curtail our current problems, and I also believe Peterson and his family are in no danger of any life-changing events. Who thought President Jimmy Carter would survive brain cancer treatments? We need more positive and hopeful attitudes in our life and for our country to heal and move forward. No negativity until there is proof of failure. — Myrna Silver, Coral Gables, Florida Op-ed writer un-American It was very disappointing to read the op-ed by J. Marcos Peterson. Peterson is an American who benefited greatly from American policies and laws, such as education and civil liberties. His animosity toward recently arrived immigrants is decidedly un-Christian and un-American. The U.S. has laws about asylum. Peterson is wrong about Donald Trump “taking care of (regular folks), listening to us.”  Trump is extremely beholden to his billionaire donors; he will do their bidding. While harshly criticizing the Democratic Party, Peterson conveniently forgets to mention that Trump is a convicted felon and a person found liable for sexual assault. That forgetfulness is evident of chronic consumption of conservative media. Evidently, Mexican Americans are as susceptible to constant “sanewashing” and gaslighting as others. — Nancy Lozano, San Antonio, Texas Day of reckoning is coming In J. Marcos Peterson’s piece, he states that he was born in the U.S. to an undocumented mother who was already deported previously. It is admirable that he overcame homelessness and is now college-educated. As an immigration attorney who has dedicated his entire 24-year career to supporting people like Peterson and his family members, I was appalled at the lack of care he exhibits for others who are potentially going to be impacted by Trumpian immigration policies. The man he unashamedly voted for has made it clear that he has no intention to discriminate when it comes to mass deportations. Peterson’s mother and other undocumented relatives will be potential targets. Trump is bringing back people like Stephen Miller to help shape his immigration policies. The Democrats are not perfect, by any means. I have been critical of them when necessary. The 1996 immigration law that was signed by President Bill Clinton is a significant reason why our immigration system is so difficult to navigate today. However, when Peterson insinuates that he would trade the end of “wokeism” for the deportation of his own family, I was truly shocked and dismayed. It is a selfish choice from a man who should know better. Peterson is a product of birthright citizenship, the child of an undocumented immigrant. I will remind Peterson that birthright citizenship is something that Trump has vowed to get rid of. There is a day of reckoning coming for many who thought they would not be targets of the bloodthirsty MAGA appetite to deport them all, and that may include Peterson’s own family. If that happens, the people Peterson might need to depend upon (immigration lawyers) will be his greatest allies to protect his mother and other community members. The Republicans have had multiple opportunities to help pass immigration reforms introduced by Democrats, but they have consistently blocked it. As a grandchild of Holocaust survivors, I have experienced family separation. Most of my mother’s ancestors were killed by the Nazis, and I have vowed to make it my life’s work to keep families together. Peterson has taken this for granted, and that is truly a sad thing to be proud of. — Maurice “Mo” Goldman, Tucson, Arizona What we want from Pritzker Gov. JB Pritzker laid into President-elect Donald Trump to remind the president who’s in charge in Illinois. Pritzker ranted about the women’s rights issue caused by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Illinois is in control of women’s rights here. Trump had the support of millions of women across the nation. Wagging his finger at Trump is not what we the people of Illinois want Pritzker to do. We want him to start fixing the broken state of Illinois: its budget, pensions, bridges, roads and schools. We want him to understand Trump has 45% of Illinois voters supporting him. — Larry Geraghty, Tinley Park Note to readers: As part of our annual holiday tradition, we’d like to hear from you about what is making you feel thankful this year. Sincere thoughts only, please. Email us a letter of no more than 400 words to [email protected]. Be sure to include your full name and your city or town. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].