LETTERS

Still waiting for help

It is so sad to see a fantastic organization such as the Veterans Administration taking a hit because of a man who apparently has the utmost disdain for the U.S. military.

I want to thank the dedicated doctors and personnel at the Fort Smith and Fayetteville facilities. When you have an appointment, you are treated on time and treated respectfully. I have had an Agent Orange claim in the system now for going on nine months and I get a letter every two months saying, “Sorry for the delay.”

Our illustrious president has placed a man in charge of the task of helping veterans, Eric Shinseki, who apparently is an incompetent, ineffective and incapable individual.

Apparently it doesn’t take as long to get food stamps as it does for our vets to get help, and there are millions more receiving food stamps under Barack Obama.

Where are the Cottons, Womacks, etc., now that they have our vote? John Boozman and Mark Pryor aren’t off the hook, either.

Men and women in need fought for America and these officials’ rights and privileges to be where they are today. Now it’s D.C.’s turn to show them some appreciation for what they’ve done.

Our representatives shouldn’t wait until election time to tell veterans what they are going to do. Show them now, when it counts.

FRANK OLIVER

Fort Smith

Won’t receive his vote

I have never voted for a Republican in my life, and I still won’t. But Mark Pryor voted against the watered-down gun bill; I also will not vote for him.

Some things are more important than being re-elected. I’ll tell all three of my Democratic friends (the ones left in Faulkner County) to leave Pryor off their ballots.

DWIGHT WATSON

Conway

In grips of terrorism

Terrorism is here for a very long time. What should we do about it?

Our culture may cause us to feel that if the perpetrators are quickly caught and jailed for life or executed, this should solve the problem. Is this the best outcome for terrorists who have little fear of death and may feel they will be martyrs and enjoy an upgraded afterlife for their deeds? Could this require our re-evaluation of the most-effective punishment for these special circumstances? There may be much more dreaded possibilities than death or confinement for the perpetrators and others considering terrorism against America.

Also, after-the-fact punishment can never offer us the level of protection we need. Wouldn’t a national dialogue regarding gathering intelligence aimed at preventing terrorism be in order? If we were doing the right things, why is the problem growing? Do we think we are on a path toward eliminating terrorism?

Maybe we seriously need to consider some different paths.

GROVER KNOLL

Clarendon

Need good watchdog

Many of us start our day each morning grabbing a cup of coffee, and kicking back to read our hometown newspaper. We live in a carefree world of barking dogs and screaming lawn mowers.

I see this through my window as I scan my computer for anything interesting in the news or social media. It’s amazing what you can find on the Internet if you’re inclined. Everything is out there-the good, the bad, and especially the ugly. This is the new way of communicating in America. I like the good parts of it.

I love the freedoms we have in our Constitution. Free speech for us all. Without it, the New York Times and others couldn’t exist. Without it, Americans who criticize our government could be subject to a penalty, or prison.

The First Amendment was instrumental in helping build this country into the great nation it is today. I know at times the media are very annoying and intrusive, but overall, their presence is appreciated and an honest media is essential to our freedoms.

Journalists are trained to bring us the news in an honest and responsible way. TV networks and major print publications hiding the news just because it doesn’t fit their agenda, to me, is the same as lying about it. I see no difference.

An honest press is urgently needed as a watchdog over a government that says it means to govern well, but what it really means is to govern. Daniel Webster reportedly said: “They sometimes promise to be good masters, but their intent is to be masters.”

This is the view through my window.

LARRY HARRIS

Springdale

Weight of knowledge

As I began dragging the contents of my library into my backyard, I gave silent thanks to Al Wilkes from Cave City, who wrote, “Knowledge just for the sake of knowledge is not very useful to us.” He knows this because everyone he knows-folks with common sense-agrees with him.

Some of the books were heavy. What has all of this done for me, this hodgepodge of knowledge? Stupid poetry, teaching me a love for the written word. Books of essays, history and science.

And it’s true, as the comrade from Cave City points out-we have few Mozarts, Picassos, Shakespeares and Einsteins-though we do seem to have produced plenty of folks like John Coltrane, Joan Baez, Jackson Pollock, Margaret Bourke-White, Mark Twain, Toni Morrison, Harlan Ellison, George Washington Carver, Vera Rubin and last of all, the ever-popular Ayn Rand. Looking over his list, it struck me that all of his examples were not only rooted in the past, but were … foreigners. The uncharitable “Why does he hate America so much?” crossed my mind, but I banished it. Common sense is the goal.

As I finally finished lugging out the remainder of my personal library and dousing it with gasoline, I understood his argument that education should be 10 percent scholastic and 90 percent vocational. All this book learnin’ can weigh a man down and cloud his mind when gut instinct is what should guide us. Common sense works best if there’s an even playing field, and we have all reached the same hallowed level of non-knowing.

“This is for you, Al,” I said as I lit the match.

RICHARD S. DRAKE

Fayetteville

A signal achievement

No clever play on words, no thought-provoking justification, no mind-numbing statistics, just a sincere plea to all drivers:

Please, please use your vehicle’s turn signals, every time, all the time.

Thanks!

KAREN WEINRICH

Rogers