Embarrassing party
Before all the progressives start endlessly spouting their irrational drivel, I will put in my short two cents. I think the inaction of the Dem side of Congress with no smiling, no clapping, no standing, and nothing but scowls was downright embarrassing. It was rude to the nth degree and, in my opinion, utterly unpatriotic.
That attitude is why many of us align with the Republican Party. I would have quit watching, but I wanted to hear the president. He is our president. He won the race. Get over it and let's try to fix this country.
GUY HOWE
Bella Vista
American freedoms
It appears that Sen. Tom Cotton has not only failed to recall the words used in an recent immigration meeting at the White House, but is unable to recall rights and privileges granted to citizens of the United States. Didn't he attend Harvard University Law School? The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution grants citizens the freedom to assemble peaceably and petition the government. The recent action by Senator Cotton's office is an outrage and an affront to our rights under the U.S. Constitution.
I am requesting an immediate revocation of all such letters issued from his office unless he can provide clear and convincing justification for the letters. Senator Cotton, you are a senator of the United States of America, not the Russian Federation Council.
JAMES CARROLL
Bigelow
Disrespected country
Sharon Vander Zyl's letter about spoiled Democrats remaining seated during Donald Trump's State of the Union address sounds so familiar. As I recall, it was the Republicans that remained seated during President Barack Obama's State of the Union speeches. By doing this, they disrespected our country and President Obama.
The old saying, "two wrongs don't make a right," is true again. Trump and our representatives in Washington need to work together for the good of our country, not themselves and their scorecard!
DEANNA PUCKETT
Heber Springs
More civil interaction
OK, baby boomers, looks like it's up to you and me again.
Thought you had attended your last rally, written your last letter to the editor, or stood up against injustice for the last time? Well, think again. We boomers are still one of the largest demographic groups on the planet, and our voices can still be heard. If we leave it up to others, there is the real risk that someone else will not have the incentive or drive to make any changes. Without history and a long perspective, we are a society of snap-judgers, lashing out at the latest uproar, and tweeting something while thinking that is all that should be needed. Today's youth seem so distracted with the latest techno fad that they are incapable or unwilling to make their voices heard.
I hear from the grapevine that many Americans are appalled at the latest statement or tweet that our national leaders are communicating. The greatest change in tax laws in recent memory got passed with little or no real opposition, and almost no public outcry or comments, much less public discussion. How can we change the course of actions by the few for the many? We must make our voices heard, for then and only then do we have a functioning democracy.
So please, when something strikes you as outrageous, don't assume that someone else will step up to the plate and do the right thing; rather, this is your turn to make a difference, once more. Thanks.
GEORGE IMRIE
Springdale
On living the dream
A recent morning on my way to work, I stopped in at a fast-food restaurant and ordered breakfast to go. As it turned out, I was short of cash and stated I would come back another time. As I turned to leave, the manager, sensing my frustration, seized on the restaurant chain's slogan and said, "You deserve a break today." In a few minutes he handed me my order free of charge, and with a grateful heart I was on my way.
Back on the road I turned on talk radio and someone was painting a picture of the state of race relations in somber tones, lamenting the perception that Martin Luther King's dream of fairness and equality has been lost in the divisive rhetoric of the day; moreover, the racial divide has widened.
Granted, I had echoed the same sentiments in the past, but somehow I didn't feel that way at that moment in time. Could it be that it had something to do with how I was just treated by the black gentleman restaurant manager who served free breakfast to me, a white customer who was running short?
Perhaps we depend too much on our leaders to set a precedent on race relations. Maybe the dream begins with us. Maya Angelou said it best: "People will forget what you say. They will forget what you do. But they will never forget how you make them feel."
MIKE PAFUNDI
Sherwood
Constitutional matters
I am confused!
I have read several letters in the Democrat-Gazette regarding requirements that businesses supplying items for weddings (sites, florists, bakers) must supply those items for same-sex weddings too. The letters cite the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, in particular the second sentence of Section 1, which reads, "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process ... ."
As I recall my (required) course in U.S. history, this was explained as granting equality to the "newly emancipated" slaves to give them the rights due other citizens. Are the letter-writers saying that Congress violated the Constitution in writing this amendment, or that the states that have written laws relative to it have violated that Constitution?
The First Amendment reads, "Congress shall make no law ... or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." It would appear that requiring someone to do something that he/she considers against their religion, such as having "any part" in a wedding that they feel is against their religious beliefs, would violate their "free exercise" of their religion.
DON KLINE
Yellville
Editorial on 02/05/2018