Letters

Stigmatizing illness

A recent editorial titled "Madness, literally" implied that Dylann Roof had a mental illness and that he and other similar murderers would be cured if "all they had to do is take their meds." There is no evidence that Dylann Roof has a mental illness. Racism, ideological fanaticism, blind hatred, or just being a disgruntled, jilted, humiliated male (which is the most common description of such mass murderers) are not medical disorders that can be classified or treated as mental illnesses.

The vast majority of people with schizophrenia, those so callously referred to as "these crazies," are in fact more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators. Please do not add to the stigmatization of mental illness by linking it to mass murder when that is rarely the case.

JOHN SPOLLEN

Little Rock

Best way to be certain

Since the 2016 election apparently was rigged and there was so much meddling and voter fraud, it is clear that we should throw out the results and have a new election. That way the president and all Americans can be confident of the results.

KAREN ANDERSON

Fayetteville

Better idea than wall

I am all for building a wall along the border of Mexico to protect our nation's security. My proposal would guarantee that Mexico would willingly and immediately pay for a portion of the cost.

With the anticipated influx of huge amounts of corrupt politicians, fake news reporters, inside traders, greedy bankers and serial litter-buggers entering into the prison system, I propose we move all of our federal prisons along the border and not construct a south wall.

It will be a huge public-works project that will create 2,153,283 jobs (my alternative estimate) and deter future crimes, especially the litter-buggers. Win, win, win!

DAVID BURROW

Fayetteville

No need for a protest

I could not understand what all the little darlings were protesting about over the weekend. As far as I know, the ladies can still kill their babies and the taxpayers will continue to pay for their sex lives by furnishing free birth control.

JOHN H. NELSON

Horatio

Is more appropriate

The Ten Commandments addition to the Capitol in Little Rock is a little puzzling to me. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he replied: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbor as yourself."

I believe Jesus' response to the question of the greatest commandment is much more in line with Christian principles than a list of "Thou shall nots." If loving God, neighbor and self were more applied, we might have a more compassionate world.

Maybe we should consider adding Jesus' response to the Capitol and then beginning to live it.

LARIE ENGLES

Hot Springs

Praise school choice

I am a proud Arkansas public school graduate. Many of my personal and professional heroes are also the product of public schools. I would not be where I am today if it weren't for the excellent teachers who impacted my life.

I was not the easiest student to educate. The public schools where I attended empowered me to embrace the learning disabilities that qualified me for special-education services and equipped me with the confidence and skills that would one day allow me to complete a Ph.D. and award-winning research.

My experience prompted me to devote my career to education. As a result of my own education and working with Arkansas educators for over 20 years, I count myself as one of the strongest supporters of public schools that you can find.

Supporting school choice and traditional public schools goes hand-in-hand. The bottom line is that every student deserves a great education and we should be celebrating any school setting that delivers on this promise.

Our state is working to provide parents with even greater options within traditional public education. Arkansas now has a robust and growing number of district conversion public charter schools and "Schools of Innovation" that provide choice within the traditional public school setting. Trailblazing leaders in these districts are truly shining a light on what could be for all Arkansas students.

The Arkansas State Teachers Association (ASTA), the state's only non-union teachers' organization, is celebrating teachers in all academic settings this week as part of National School Choice Week. We salute all of the amazing educators working to serve our state's students.

MICHELE LINCH

Little Rock

We should tax robots

I would like to amplify the letters from Dick Sawyer and Coralie Koonce. As we develop more and more intelligent machines, they will take over more and more of our work. Self-driving cars are being tested now. One of these days truck, bus and taxi drivers may be replaced by machines. Eventually doctors, lawyers and corporate executives will be replaced.

This need not be a bad thing. Intelligent machines will work 24/7 without getting tired and without taking lunch or potty breaks. Our national economy will flourish. We just need to be sure that when it does, our whole society enjoys the benefits.

We should tax automation and use the revenue to guarantee everyone an income. The better the robots become, the more revenue they will generate.

This is clearly socialism. The problem with socialism is that it doesn't motivate people to work. But the robots will just keep working harder than any human ever could.

At least until they get greedy. Then they may introduce the robot capitalist free-enterprise system, and we'll all be screwed.

THOMAS L. ATWOOD

West Fork

Editorial on 01/27/2017

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