Must change narrative
Change the narrative: The domestic narrative in America must change and it should be soon. The overriding tone purported by news, entertainment and social media is me or you against the other. It's no longer the old "us against them"; it's more complex and sophisticated. The reason for that is to keep the animus interchangeable. Since the other can be any one of us on a given day, nobody can be too comfortable; everybody is on edge.
You know what people look like on edge; yep, edgy. So we walk around in agitated mode and wonder why we can't all get along. Can you still hear me, Rodney King? Something intangible like a social narrative has an oversized effect on society because of its concentration.
First of all, we can all agree that the news we watch and hear is mostly negative. We want it that way because everybody loves a train wreck. Add to that entertainment. We only root for the good guys in the movie because we want the villain to suffer.
Social media is easy. It's all about castigating one another to achieve maximum humiliation.
If that isn't enough, we have politicians. You know, the guys that tell us not to trust one another: Since those people don't love their country, they aren't trustworthy. They just want a free ride. And that group doesn't belong here.
I'm afraid if we don't change the narrative and thusly the tone, we may all be "the other."
ROBERT BANKS
Little Rock
Already out of the car
Charles Isgrig looks at the Republican presidential candidates and thinks to himself, "Send in the clowns."
I look at the Democrats and read letters like his and think, "Don't bother, they're already here."
LONNIE HILL
Fayetteville
Gist of the problem
In the recent reaction of many Southern states to remove the Confederate battle flag from government buildings and public places, some politicians have been heard defending it as only a symbolic cultural remnant with no hint of racism attached. Just a symbol of the good Old South. Mint juleps, magnolia trees, minstrels ... oops! Scratch that last one.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The sin of slavery cannot be forgotten or forgiven so easily. The blood of slaves still stains our Southern soil. The Confederate battle flag is not a symbol of regional gentility. It is a symbol of brutality and injustice.
No matter, that. We still believe in the great principle of free speech enshrined in the Bill of Rights. If you choose to fly the battle flag above your front porch, you have every right to do so. But governments do not.
Why must innocent people die to awaken us to this obvious truth?
DAVID E. COCKROFT
Little Rock
While they were at it
Oh, how I wish the Supreme Court had also told us what the meaning of "is" is!
YVONNE SAMONS
Little Rock
Move past the past
It appears the killing of blacks by a white man in South Carolina is bringing about some national soul-searching.
May I suggest this might also apply to the Democrat-Gazette? It is first a newspaper, right?
The Confederate flag flying at the Capitol in South Carolina is news because it is seen (rightly) as a symbol of racism. But what is the reason for the modern Southern newspaper consistently running items commemorating Civil War events like it was yesterday, unless it is for the same reason?
We can piously say we didn't do it, but if we create the climate or egg it on, we are just as guilty.
The South lost the Civil War. Get over it.
KATHRYN GOSSIEN
Little Rock
Don't lose all reason
It was said that Einstein loved a good Jewish joke. Nowadays if you tell a Jewish joke, you might be accused of hate speech or have to resign from your job or at least give up your honorary title at the university. The opening chorus of "Old Man River" from Showboat originally began with the n-word, but somehow I doubt that Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein were intending to spread hate.
My Nana (my grandmother) would be thought of today as a racist, although she was not alone since her beliefs were commonly held by many people in Illinois back in the 1950s. My sister and I (with our parents' tacit approval) tried hard to talk Nana out of those beliefs. We tried hard over a period of many years from time to time over the dinner table, but to no avail. But she graciously respected our ability to hold our own beliefs.
So it is clear to me that the perhaps once-noble symbol of the Confederate flag really has no place on public grounds. But now in the wake of this controversy I hear talk that may call for the removal of Confederate statues in public squares and buildings, and the renaming of parks and highways across the South. Kind of reminds me of ISIS destroying Christian relics or the Taliban blowing up ancient Buddhist statues. And it also brings to mind a quote by G.K. Chesterton: "The madman is not the man who has lost his reason. The madman is the man who has lost everything except his reason."
As a child, every summer I would stay with Nana and Granddad for at least a week by myself. Nana and I worked 500-piece jigsaw puzzles of paintings by the Dutch Masters and she taught me how to play canasta. And every day we would go to nearby Carle Park and play on the swings. She was the nicest, kindest and one of the smartest people I ever knew, and I loved her so.
JAMES HATCH
Little Rock
A good compromise
It seems to me that a good compromise on the Confederate flag issue would be for those wanting to display a Confederate flag for historic and heritage purposes to use the original Confederate flag, the "Stars and Bars." This is composed of three horizontal stripes, red, white, and red with a blue canton displaying a circle of white stars representing the Confederate states.
Then retire the Confederate battle flag to museums now that it has been soiled by racist and hate groups.
JOE WHALEN
North Little Rock
Editorial on 06/28/2015