LETTERS

Courtesy, decency defunct

Recently, two tragic and senseless deaths have been in the news.

Two men get into a shouting match over loud music in a store parking lot, and one is shot dead. Two others get in an argument about texting in a movie theater, and one man is shot dead.

Four families destroyed over such stupid trivialities.

Unfortunately, I believe these incidents are indicative of another death: the death of common courtesy and decency toward our fellow man.

In a time not so long ago, if you were doing something in public that was offensive to others such as playing your radio as loud as it would go, and someone asked you to turn it down, you would.

If you were making noise in a theater and someone asked you to stop, you would move to the lobby until the conversation was over.

No more. Now, everyone thinks they have an absolute right to act as they see fit in public, and if someone doesn’t like it, too bad.

Are playing the radio too loud or texting in a theater capital offenses punishable by death? Of course not, and one man in the shootings has been convicted on four counts, and the other is facing charges, which is as it should be.

However, had the radio just been turned down, or the phone taken out to the lobby, perhaps neither incident would have occurred. Two men would be alive, and two others would be at home with their families.

FREDERICK H. KING Mount Vernon

Is that cost-effective?

I recently passed four Washington County sheriff’s office vehicles, five or six deputies/employees and a handful of inmates picking up trash along Arkansas 170 in Farmington.

I am just guessing this is costing taxpayers around $250 per hour in salaries, plus whatever added preparation cost takes place at the jail to process the inmates in and out. Then of course there is the cost of the vehicles that must be included as well. So let’s just say $300 per hour, and it looked like they would do about three or four miles.

Is this really a cost-effective use of taxpayers’ dollars or sheriff’s office manpower, especially when our jail is so full? I think not! Is this just another one of those cases in Northwest Arkansas where this is the way we have been doing it for years and no one even questions the practice?

D.S. HARPER Farmington

Guilty of smack talk?

Marion Berry apparently either did not comprehend what he was reading or perhaps intentionally distorted what I wrote in my op-ed piece. I expressed an objective view of my take on what is happening in the two major races in this state for governor and senator.

Mr. Berry accused me of taking cheap shots at Mark Pryor, yet it seems he did not give a single fact to back that up.

I did not question Pryor’s Christian faith, as Berry alleged. What I stated is that Pryor is the first politician I could find, in looking back through history, who has openly shown his Bible and stated that he believes in it and that it is his North Star, and has so stated in a commercial that ran extensively on TV. The operative word is “openly,” as that is factual and does not question his faith.

Berry goes on to state that “both Democrats and Republicans hold our Bible close, and we aren’t ashamed about it.” The operative word there is “close.” He did not name any other politician that has made the public display Pryor has made in his TV commercial.

I strongly encourage readers to get a copy of my op-ed piece and Berry’s, and compare the two. I think you will then see who is guilty of “smack talk,” “cheap shots” and “trash.”

Shame on Mr. Berry! The readers of this newspaper deserve better.

SHEFFIELD NELSON Little Rock

Evolution of argument

The evolutionist tells us that, billions of years ago, the first life on earth was a one-celled microscopic fellow. He was hungry-I can see that-but how did he ever get an appetite?

And with his newly acquired appetite, he must have acquired an instinct to know what was good for food. Otherwise, the little fellow might have eaten something very dangerous and killed himself.

As you know, most everything in this world is not good for food. After he had eaten, my concern for him would be even more, for now that he’s full he might die with colic. You see, his little one-celled body must digest this food that’s not alive into something alive like him so he can grow.

The evolutionist calls me religious because I believe in a creator, but I believe atheistic evolution is also a religion. If evolution is not a religion, may they give us the facts.

LYNDON WHITLEDGE Jacksonville

Perils, responsibilities

A grandmother received a call from her 14-year-old granddaughter telling her she had taken a home pregnancy test, and it was positive.

The grandmother shared the story with another grandmother whose heart lurched, thinking, “My great-granddaughter is seven years old, only seven years from 14.”

How can children be taught the perils and responsibilities of carnal knowledge? The world teaches them to use their bodies to get the good things in life: clothes, cars, music, vacations, movies, etc. Businesses use this method to sell their products.

How can the message that children receive be counteracted? Are there classes where mothers learn how to quietly and clearly teach their daughters the perils and responsibilities of carnal knowledge?

How about little men? Are there classes where fathers learn to safeguard their sons from decisions that bring pain to themselves and others? STELLA BROGDON Higden

Our educational goal

While watching a newscast making reference to a charter school and the controversy of teaching creationism, I paused to remember my education.

I attended public school in Pulaski County during the 1960s era. After thinking about this issue, I realized that I was never taught creationism in school. I was taught creationism in church.

At school, it was routine to hear a scripture reading over the intercom. There may have been a short prayer. I learned natural selection and survival of the fittest. I never questioned these teachings. They made perfect sense to me. In high school we touched on the theory of evolution. We were allowed to come to our own conclusion.

One teaching I do remember is respect for authority and behaving in the classroom. Maybe that should still be a part of our educational goal. LIBBY DRAPER Little Rock

For defense of Pryor

Kudos to Marion Berry for his guest piece in defense of Sen. Mark Pryor. I would hope that the other former congressmen/senators would do the same.

While Tom Cotton apparently has the only statewide newspaper for his platform, it seems a bit unfair that other moderates do not have that advantage.

ROBERT WHITE Little Rock

The perils of alcohol

I believe that Faulkner County should not become a wet county. This means that business owners should not be allowed to open a liquor store in Faulkner County. Being that Faulkner County has more than one college in the Conway area, there would be more consumption of alcohol. This could cause more issues to arise.

Some of the main issues dealing with alcohol consist of drunken driving, underage drinking and domestic violence. These issues could increase if alcohol was easier to access within Faulkner County.

As a member of a national fraternity, I’ve seen a lot of problems occur because of alcohol. For example, once my frat brothers and I were traveling to New Orleans for a conference. When we got there, some of the brothers had already began drinking. There were bars and liquor stores everywhere. That night there were four wrecks as a result of drunken driving in the Bourbon Street area.

Then the next night we attended a party in the same area. At the party there were some local guys who were drunk. They were being disrespectful and touching all over the women in the party. One of the women, who had also been drinking, began to yell at them furiously. Within the next couple of minutes, they were fighting. When the police finally got involved, they found out that the girl was only 19.

All of this happened in two nights, so just imagine how much damage the presence of liquor stores could do over a period of time. I believe these things would have never happened if alcohol wasn’t in the picture.

CORDELL WILSON Conway

A trashy time of year

There’s probably no such thing as a state or even a multicounty task force, but if there was, I have a great purpose for them all: litter removal.

For those of us who live on what has been called Scenic Highway 7, this is the time of year when some of us feel most ashamed. The brownness of winter makes for perfect visibility for discarded pieces of Styrofoam and other pieces of things that thoughtless drivers could not be bothered to keep within the confines of their motor vehicles.

No doubt Texans-who have their own “Don’t Mess With Texas” anti-litter campaign going on-are aghast when they exit Interstate 30 in Caddo Valley to drive to Hot Springs during the live horse-racing season, as they witness the residue of thoughtlessness inClark, Hot Spring and Garland counties on their drive.

It’s too bad county officials seldom bother to send out trusties or nonviolent offenders with sacks to pick up discarded stuff along the road.

After driving through a large number of the 48 contiguous states, I don’t think any of them can compete against Arkansas in our acceptance of litter. That’s right: We’re No. 1!

JACK W. HILL Bismarck

Feedback How irresponsible

What did they say? It is still only February, and the GOP leadership is already calling it quits until after the midterm elections in November.

How blatantly insulting and irresponsible can these tax-paid employees of the people be? And they don’t even hesitate to tell their constituents of their veiled incompetence.

If you want a representative that represents you, I suggest you use your vote this fall to elect someone that will work for you all year, every year.

VICTOR JACUZZI Little Rock

No worse than rest

After the utter disaster of the tragically misnamed “Affordable Care Act,” some called for the resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Why should she resign? Sure, I think she is clueless, incompetent and despotic, but so is the rest of the Obama administration. Now, if we could get everyone in the administration to resign, it might do some good.

FRANK LATIMER Little Rock