Hillary's happenings
While I have always found Hillary Clinton's self-delusional excuses for torpedoing the 2016 presidential election mildly entertaining, I think it has come to a point where a well-intentioned intervention might be necessary, for her well-being as well as everyone else.
Mrs. Clinton, Bernie Sanders didn't cost you the election. You lost because of your corrupting addiction to power and money at the expense of working-class America. The arrogance and entitlement you displayed at the few rallies you attended made even an empty-headed sociopath like Trump seem preferable.
So if you really want to know "what happened," try looking in the mirror.
JOHN LANCASTER
Donaldson
They make difference
Ms. Beasley from Fayetteville seemed to be asking for a response to her tolerance of bad language. She defended it by saying that people needed a release for their frustrations and spewing a few cuss words shouldn't be a concern to anyone else.
I'm surely no saint, having colorfully expressed myself in traffic, in long lines and an occasionally misguided hammer. But the truth is, I've always regretted it. Having three children made me more aware of how I expressed myself, and now that I have grandchildren I'm even more conscious of what I say. The words we use are part of the construction of the atmosphere our children grow up in. The things we say in front of our children become a part of their developing character, and that is a huge responsibility.
And bad language also classifies a person. There are homeless men with more character expressed in the way they talk than the wealthiest man you know who doesn't know any better.
But bad language goes hand in hand with how we express ourselves about politics, religion and even football referees. We seemed to have lost a lot of our dignity. Our president and other celebrities like Kanye West and Kathy Griffin haven't set very good examples.
When I look at these people I actually find myself feeling a bit sorry for them. They seem to have everything a person could want, but still sound empty and angry, and their egos regurgitate hate and jealousy in a childlike way. Men like this have shown us that all the power and money in the world can't buy character. They believe the house they live in, the clothes they wear, the cars they drive, make them "classy" people.
Of course the Bible warns about "what comes out of our mouths," but whether you are religious or not, you owe it to yourself and to the people you love to carry yourself with a little more dignity. And a little repentance isn't a bad thing either. Actually, you'll find that it feels pretty good.
WADE GREEN
Camden
All about the money
Your editorial of Sept. 5 about the Razorbacks, "Crowd cheers for more," was very good. The problem with the scheduling is TV, money and SEC opponents (purported).
Why FAMU on Thursday night? The Hogs can't play more than one Power Conference opponent a year. They must play one, but not play more than one. Other SEC teams do. But not many.
Of course money is why the Little Rock game will go away--70,000 seats at UofA versus 40,000-50,000 at Little Rock plus the money to travel down here. And I agree we don't need lockers for the players that cost $8,700 each, with a TV in each, as the Longhorns do. Or do we need it to recruit?
And why not play Arkansas State or UCA annually on Labor Day weekend at War Memorial? Surely TV could find a slot for it. Who doesn't think that sells out at 50,000?
Even without a Harvey.
BARRY JACOBSEN
Hot Springs Village
Condemn radical hate
This paper's columnist Bradley R. Gitz and I generally have such disparate opinions and worldview that I never anticipated agreeing with him about anything significant. However, he surprised me on Sept. 4 with his description and analysis of the alt-right neo-Nazis and the alt-left Antifa thugs. He basically concluded, correctly, that it doesn't much matter whom such radicals hate, and the groups are perhaps more similar than different.
There were many things that happened in Charlottesville that should shock and sadden any American. The most evil was the attack on apparently peaceful anti-Nazi demonstrators, resulting in the death of one young woman and injuries to other demonstrators.
Ranking way up there for me on the shock-and-awe scale was the revelation that there are leftist thugs who call themselves "Antifa" and advocate violence against the right. I thought POTUS was coining a new term and trying to justify the alt-right by claiming there was an equally bad "alt-left."
One of my go-to retorts when discussing demonstrators was that it was the right wing which espouses violence and shoots its perceived enemies at abortion clinics or Islamic mosques. I thought leftist folks were peaceful and never advocated violence.
How sorry I am to realize that's not true. How sad I am that some who claim an ideology similar to mine are just as evil as some on the other side.
My thanks to Professor Gitz for his thoughtful analysis. May we all avoid and condemn the radical haters on both ends of the continuum.
VICKI FEWELL
Sherwood
We must admit truth
Since the despicable display of anti-Americanism, racism, and white supremacy in Virginia, I've read and heard a lot.
A great number of folks are saying Confederate statues "teach history." They do nothing of the sort, and those folks know it. They are there by the will of supporters for glorification of the slave-holding Confederacy.
Should those statues be removed? I'd say no, but I would say that durable and well-designed bronze plaques should be affixed to each of them stating that the person represented engaged in the killing of thousands of other folks in order to maintain the enslavement of his fellow man of another race.
That would teach their history proactively and truthfully. If those folks can't accept those plaques, then it surely would show their true views of racism and its ongoing practice in this state and nation. In some measure, those anti-American criminals are an explanation of why so many "lifelong Christian Democrats" became knee-jerk Republicans when a black man was elected president.
If we as a people will not admit the truth, we cannot hope to fix this national tragedy. It's not "dog-whistle racism" when everyone can hear it.
KARL HANSEN
Hensley
Editorial on 09/11/2017