The desire to succeed
Henry Taylor died in the mid-1940s at the age of 103. I was pre-teenage. He was the only person I've ever known born into slavery.
Even after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on Jan. 1, 1863, it had to have been a hellish ordeal to find oneself faced with surviving in a war-torn country where resources were scant, jobs scarce, and skin color marked one with likely unfriendliness. Institutional ignorance relegated most to menial, heavy, physical, low-paying jobs. Despite lingering obstacles of separate but not so equal policies in the South, everyone's life was improved as they conveyed to offspring a life hinged solely upon their abilities to make choices leading to success.
Freedom is precious and cherished on the same level as life in most quarters. It gives the individual within the confines of civilized societal laws complete control over his own choices and actions in life. If one chooses to sit on the stoop and be a witness to history on the street in front of him, he can do so. He doesn't, however, have a right to expect his neighbors to feed and support his needs. If he expects to improve his state of being and succeed in any visible way, he has to get off the stoop and find a way to improve his lifestyle.
The only true limits lie within one's desire to succeed. Likewise it's insufferable for anyone to teach offspring and others that they cannot succeed because of their race, gender or station in life.
JIMMIE TREWITT
Ward
The past is long past
April 27 was the birthday of Gen. Ulysses Grant, one of the great generals in the War of the Rebellion and in U.S. military history. Descendants of Arkansas Union soldiers in the War of the Rebellion and I were disappointed because there wasn't an entire editorial page that day extolling his noble character and military genius.
Northern legislatures have failed to commemorate or honor their "Northern heritage" because they haven't created a "General Ulysses Grant Day," and their newspapers do not print a full editorial page extolling Grant's noble character on his birthday.
The English have failed miserably for hundreds of years to honor their "English heritage" because they haven't created a "General Charles Cornwallis Day" on George Washington's Birthday.
Mexicans have failed to honor their "Mexican heritage" because they haven't created a "General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna Day" on President James Knox Polk's birthday.
The Japanese have failed to honor their "Japanese heritage" because they haven't created a "General Hideki Tojo Day" or "Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto Day" on President Franklin Roosevelt's birthday.
The Germans also have failed to honor their "German heritage" because they haven't created a "Kaiser Wilhelm Day" on President Woodrow Wilson's birthday. Most Germans today are wise enough to despise Adolf Hitler.
It seems that some Arkansans and Southerners appear to be the only group that has an odd desire to create a dubious heritage to justify a long-past military defeat.
GLEN SALTER
Fayetteville
Valentine memories
The last time I saw Bill Valentine was at a school outing we took with a group of ninth-graders at Ray Winder.
I said, "Hey, you're Bill Valentine."
Then he said, "Know who the other man is?"
I said, "No."
Valentine turned and said, "Meet Bob Feller." I was stunned. "Go get a marking pen," he said.
Feller then autographed a ball Valentine gave me. I will never forget the kindness Valentine and Feller showed me and our students. I told baseball stories about Valentine and Feller the rest of the day. And yes, I still have the ball.
TOM WEBB
Bryant
Because of my mom
Happy birthday to my mommy. She taught me to be curious, ask questions, embrace diversity and to think outside of the box. I would like to thank her for not raising me to have a closed mind and for teaching me that knowledge is power and for never making me feel afraid to disappoint her.
I cannot fathom the strength and personal sacrifice required to raise me and my brother 100 percent alone. She never complained or made us aware of her sacrifices. We never went without. She is selfless, brilliant and full of life, youth and unconditional love. I am who I am because of her and her hard work and sacrifices. Fifty-three never looked so good. I love my mommy.
CASSANDRA HERNANDEZ
Bentonville
True costs of hubris
Coal miners took canaries underground because they knew the birds would die first when the air went bad, giving them time to escape.
Recently, there was an article about endangered species struggling against the rising tide of impaired water. The Arkansas Farm Bureau spokesman was quoted saying that while they were glad to have fewer river miles designated as protected habitat for increasingly rare mussels, they questioned why farmers must bear the brunt of protecting waterways for such insignificant creatures.
In the last 20 years, the number of monitored waterways designated as impaired has risen from 36 percent to 55 percent nationwide, according to the EPA.
Farm Bureau claims to speak for farmers, but truly independent farmers are becoming as endangered as the rabbitsfoot mussel. Giant corporations have spent the last 30+ years transforming farms into factories. Massive indoor feed lots are supposedly the only efficient way of producing meat. Corporations own the animals, the feed, and the supply chain, while "contractors" contribute the metal buildings and daily care and are stuck with finding a way to get rid of mountains of sewage.
The steady degradation of our rivers has forced many Arkansans to take a crash course in the dangers of unsustainable industrialized agriculture. The claim is that it's the only way to feed our planet. The planet is telling another story. Big Agri reaps mega-rewards, contract farmers are paid barely enough to get by, and taxpayers must foot the bill to clean up the mess. When you add up the true costs, industrialized food production is no bargain. The mussels in Ozark waterways are literally dying to tell us to tell us that our shared resources are being looted for private gain. They're our canaries.
LIN WELLFORD
Green Forest
Leave kids out of this
In a recent column, Philip Martin voiced support for the idea that sexual orientation is "an immutable trait with which certain people are born." As a pediatrician I am always alert to the exploitation of children by political types, and Martin's invoking of the sexual self-understanding of newborns is a variation on this theme.
It's my understanding that the "inborn immutability" of sexual orientation has never been established scientifically, and the idea is giving way to an understanding that postnatal influences such as child-rearing are important in the development of gender identity.
This complicates the politics of the issue, and it raises important ethical considerations. If our influence might prove definitive, what is our responsibility to the young and impressionable? What support from the larger society do parents have a right to expect? What, after all, is the purpose of childhood? These are important questions, and they cannot be answered without a willingness to deal with their inherent moral complexity.
In the midst of the political acrimony all around us, let me make this suggestion--let's leave the kids out of it.
R. ALLAN STANFORD
Bryant
Editorial on 05/04/2015