I'm smarter than you
After reading Brenda Looper's "Reality Check" column, I wondered why she didn't save the paper 21 column inches and simply state: "Look at me! I am smarter than you."
I'll pause here while our most liberal editor gets all the "I'm not a danged liberal" epithets out of her system. Done? All righty, then ...
With all the space freed up, you probably could have run the New York Times Sunday crossword in bold-face type so that all of us creepy conservatives can actually see the numbers. I know, I know . . . liberals do the puzzle, too, but they usually find some word to get offended by and quit before they finish.
But, just think, you have added another pejorative to describe conservatives: racist, sexist, homophobe, flat-earther, and jingoist.
TOM CANDELA
Bella Vista
Tapper stirred the pot
My granddaddy used to tell me, "If you don't stir the pot, it will all stick to the bottom." After watching the last Republican debate moderated by Jake Tapper, I have to disagree with him. John Deering and John Newcombe's comic Zack Hill hit the nail on the head. As an American I agree with them--Jake Tapper is an idiot. Instead of trying to get the candidates' positions on the pressing problems facing American's today, he tried to stir the pot, asking soap-opera questions.
For the next debate, I suggest they use Judge Judy. She asks direct questions and expects--no, demands--straight answers to her questions. Use her and maybe we can find out where the candidates really stand.
STEVE RICHMAN
Batesville
Biden knows nothing
I just read an article that said Vice President Joe Biden is supporting LGBT personnel in the military. I believe that keeps his record of announcing support for things that he knows nothing about. He has never served (which I think should be required for office). As a 20-year member of the U.S. Navy, I have had some experience with what having gays on a destroyer meant. It was not a pleasant time and caused extreme discomfort throughout the crew.
BARRETT METZLER
Bearden
Some favorite sayings
With the recent interest in Yogiisms (aka Berraisms), I propose that Brenda Looper's collection of Arkansas sayings henceforth be referred to as Looperisms. Since becoming an Arkansan (or Arkansawyer--depends on the native you ask) over a decade ago, I have a couple of favorite Looper-isms. They are "covered up," meaning extremely busy, and "half past dark," whenever that is, depending on daylight saving time, etc.
Thanks, Brenda, and continue the good work!
SUSAN S. HENLEY
Cherokee Village
Communication crisis
If you think of the last few conversations you've had, chances are that some of them were facilitated by some form of mobile device. When cell phones first came on the scene, their intended function was to make calls to people who weren't readily accessible to you. Today they are a powerhouse multifunctional tool.
According to research done by the Pew Research Center, 90 percent of American adults own a cell phone. While many may argue that smartphones have advanced human connectivity by leaps and bounds, I posit that mobile devices are actually hindering human social advancement by stunting our face-to-face communication skills.
Go with me to any college campus or large city across the world, and I imagine we'd see a majority of the people with heads down, headphones in, and their thumbs going a mile a minute, foregoing actual human connection. I am not anti-technology; I'm in awe of the new wave of smartphones, just like the next gadget aficionado. I also understand that mobile devices allow us to communicate in ways that go far beyond the scope of verbal communication, but when I'm out with a friend and they choose to tap away on their iPhone while we are having lunch, I feel like I'm having lunch for three: myself, my friend and the smartphone.
Taylor Strahan, a junior at Linganore High School in Frederick County, Md., had this to say about mobile devices: "Cell phones have changed communication because now, instead of friends actually having a face to face conversation, they text each other. This is bad because intent can become misinterpreted."
Every day that you choose mobile connection over human connection, you slowly become a social zombie of sorts, all the while passing up real face-to-face interaction. Mobile devices are gradually causing a communication crisis.
NATHAN JONES
Little Rock
Worthwhile addition
Properly teaching American sign language (ASL) is more complex than just teaching the language. It also requires teaching a lot about the culture. You may go to a different state or country and they may sign a different way. It's just like going from Wisconsin (which is where I used to live) to Texas. We say a lot of things very differently up north then we do in the South. It is the same with the ASL teachings. Using ASL can show how the past was much different than the present just by signing something in a different way.
UCA professor Dr. Sherman Wilcox also asks the question "Is ASL instruction a worthwhile addition to the curriculum?" His answer to this was a most certain "yes," and I would have to agree with him. As he explains, it gives students a look at their culture in a different way.
It is another way to consider who you are and where you are from.
KINYUANA K. SMITH
Conway
Editorial on 10/07/2015