Letters

Will miss the paper

I have been a faithful subscriber for over 30 years, but now I am in the process of moving to another state. How I will miss sections of the paper--and especially Brenda Looper's weekly columns! I always leave it to read last--to savor. Thank you, Brenda, for your sense of humor, general snarkiness, and constant cleverness. And for your fact-checkers, this is my opinion--hopefully shared by many others of your faithful readers.

I have had a number of "leditors" printed throughout the years--never had one turned away--so this is my last try.

Hail and farewell.

D.C. RIGGS

Little Rock

Morning dissonance

Your editorial and Voices pages last Wednesday caused me a bit of dissonance. My liberal/conservative or conservative/liberal worldview was shaken slightly.

The lead editorial on the upper left of the editorial page presented a point of view on the recent University of Missouri events on which I disagree. Although I do prefer peace and harmony, social upheaval is oftentimes useful in agitating the powers that be to the point of making necessary change. Viewing large bureaucratic organizations as I do, I find myself hesitantly agreeing--albeit for different reasons--with the editorial characterization of the student demonstrations as "purely symbolic politics of race." I just don't think anything substantive will come about to address real, heartfelt issues of racial injustice the students have experienced. Installing a diversity and inclusion management training process will probably yield little of the changes the students desire.

What fueled my dissonance is when I moved to the Voices page and read the piece by Brenda Looper, editor of the Voices page. As usual, I enjoyed her musings very much. Her take on terrorism and the erroneous broad-brushing many often use to paint all of a certain group from the actions of a few was right on.

I felt a literal sense of balance as I held the paper in my hand; one side staunchly conservative, as I expect, and the other more liberal. Ideas, and the expression of them, can really get a person going, can't they? This was an interesting early morning experience before breakfast. Thanks.

HOSEA LONG

Little Rock

Why take the chance?

I think the verse on the Statue of Liberty refers to immigrants--honest, hardworking people--not refugees from tyranny. Most but not all of the refugees are probably good people. So I'll give you something to think about.

There is a park where your children play. A reptile farm has a thousand snakes they want to release into that park. Most of those snakes are nonpoisonous. but 10 or 15 of them are deadly poisonous. Would you still let your children go to that park to play? I think not.

What makes you think that there would be no ISIS members or sympathizers in 10,000 refugees? I surely would not bet on that being so!

We the taxpayers do not need another 10,000 nonworking people to feed, clothe and house added to our present tax bill.

NELSON GATEWOOD

Highland

Bewildering actions

The rapid actions of our governor and too many of his colleagues to deny shelter for women, men and children under extreme threats has left me bewildered.

Our nation of immigrants, the greatest and strongest country in history, has always been strengthened, enriched by our historically open-armed inclusion of such threatened peoples. To doubt the ability of the United States to filter through those seeking safe harbor makes me sadly question the faith in the abilities and motivations of fellow citizens to "protect and defend," a proposition that dilutes the bellicose slogans we repeatedly are exposed to on both sides of the current presidential campaign.

Xenophobic is a distasteful term at best, and to add politically motivated to the adjective creates a very unflattering label and, as uncomplimentary a term as it is, it applies to actions formed in such a hurried collaborative effort.

If only truly frightening ubiquitous problems could be dealt with as comprehensively, problems like the number of murders in our "Capital City." The capital city of Arkansas, a state with one of the highest per capita gun-ownership rates nationwide--but then I am sure all of those weapons are needed to protect ourselves from the Syrian hordes.

The exclusion of humans from the welcoming protection of the USA is a pathetic exploitative maneuver that diminishes the standing of our nation in the eyes of history.

STEVEN ROCKWELL

North Little Rock

Creating our enemies

If those in our nation who are recoiling in fear from rescuing the Syrian refugees fleeing terror succeed in walling off America's shining virtue of welcoming the dispossessed into our cherished freedoms and opportunities, I believe they will only succeed in increasing terror in the world at large and here at home.

When we translate our fears into hatred of the stranger, it is we who redefine them as our enemy, we who create our enemies.

CLIFFORD YEARY

Little Rock

Take it even further

The land of immigrants refusing other immigrants entry to our country?

Why don't our House members go one step further and set up containment camps for the Syrians and the Iraqis that are already here, just like we did to the Japanese Americans during World War II? That would really frost the cake for the GOP.

JOHN W. WILSON

Jacksonville

Editorial on 11/25/2015

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