Commitment to truth
Several readers have complained that a recent article on the front page of the Democrat-Gazette said that Donald Trump falsely claimed that Hillary Clinton would abolish the Second Amendment were she elected. The letter-writers claim that this amounts to the Democrat-Gazette's editorializing in a news story. And they are right to say that news stories shouldn't editorialize.
Yet the letter writers fail to recognize what a new challenge the candidacy of Donald Trump is.
We are used to politicians saying things that are misleading but that, if one squints at them in just the right way, can be thought to be true. We are also used to being lied to by politicians when they are confident that their falsehoods can never be discovered because the facts in question are not publicly known. What is new with Trump is that he repeatedly says things that are demonstrably false (e.g., regarding his own claim that the Iraq war was a mistake, that he said we shouldn't pull out of Iraq as we did, that crime rates in American cities have been on the rise for years, or that Hillary Clinton is for the abolition of the Second Amendment). This puts journalists in a unique situation. To simply report what he claims gives a legitimacy to them, even when the record is clear that what Trump says is not true.
I applaud the Democrat-Gazette for making the brave decision to point out when Trump's statements are demonstrably false. This is not to editorialize in a news story but instead to be committed to telling the truth.
TOM SENOR
Bentonville
Advertising bad taste
Your paper must be desperate to accept advertising for men's sex pills in the main news section of the paper. Or maybe it is because it is a "man's world."
I worked in marketing and advertising for decades in management and as a media director. Yes, a half-page ad brings a lot of money to your paper. But, come on!
I truly do not believe in censorship, but I believe in good taste and the proper placement of ads, no matter what an advertiser may want to pay. I guess money has taken precedence over news in the main section of your paper. What a sad statement for your management.
ELAINE BURKS
Little Rock
Make the world better
Re Al Case's letter: He apparently thinks the world would be a better place without religion.
His belief presupposes a good moral standard apart from God. I believe 20th century atheists like Stalin, Pol Pot, Castro and Mao Tse-tung prove otherwise. They were responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people and were the greatest mass murderers of all time. I would also include Hitler in that list. He may have started out professing to be Christian, but a person's Christian profession means nothing when he practices the exact opposite of what Christ taught.
Jesus taught that we should love God with all of our heart, soul and mind. We should love our neighbor as ourselves, and we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
If everyone wanted to follow the teachings of Jesus, this world would be almost heaven.
VIRGINIA CROSS
Little Rock
Let's make it a two-fer
It's truly about time we elect a female president. I predict Hillary R. Clinton will become the first female president and the second Clinton to be impeached.
DONAL B. WRIGHT
Cabot
An independent state
What is liberty, that modern man has grown so fearful of it? Is he so afraid of failure, without a safety net, that he is willing to exchange his limitless abilities for the chains of security? The long arm of the occupying government reaches into everyone's lives, producing the upturned thumb when your choices align with hers, a wagging finger when you question the motives and origins of her actions, or protest the actions themselves, and a fist ready to destroy all who dare break the mold of servanthood.
What if there were a path to liberty, one that differed from the insane repetitious method of trusting politicians a thousand miles away? I speak of separation. Secession, if you must. America's cornerstone is the right of self-governance, and it was struck in the quarry by separating from the bedrock of tyranny.
The people of Arkansas must declare independence from the tyrannical form of government we now languish beneath. Our own motto, Regnat Populus, The People Rule, no longer rings true. When was the last time the people of Arkansas were permitted to shape their own destiny without first seeking the nod of our benevolent master? The answer, dear friend, is not attainable. How is that freedom?
Oh yes, the severing of these ties would be painful. But like all life-saving surgeries, it is vital to our existence.
Will you contemplate this course? The way is fearful, but it is certain. Arkansas cannot simultaneously exist in marriage to an abusive spouse and feel worthy of respect and honor. Nay, she must separate, not in a flash of rage or in dangerous emotion, but in a calculated and measured exit. The course is ours, but the first step belongs to you.
JOHN ROSS BRYAN
Conway
The playground bully
As we watch the circus of politics flowing in America, one has to wonder if all this is necessary. Donald Trump is the tip of the iceberg. He apparently has never been challenged before. If anyone challenges him, he threatens to sue or starts the name-calling, which I think is a playground bully tactic. If he screams loud enough, he will feel he is in charge. He has to be No. 1.
Trump was asked to leave the confines of his mansion to challenge Barack Obama about his birth certificate. He wanted to make Obama look like a liar. One thing my mother told me that I will never forget is that your enemy can't hurt you, but watch that close friend. There are a lot of people in this sinful world who will use anyone they think they can use.
I do not blame Trump for his tactics. We have to go back to the playground and wonder who let him get away with being a bully. There are two sides to every story.
As Americans we should realize we caused this mess because of money. If a person has a lot of money, we treat him like a god on a pedestal. We forget there has never been a need for an armored truck at a gravesite.
JULIA RANDLE
Jacksonville
Editorial on 08/27/2016