Remember 'normal'
Culture is a fragile thing. When we get used to a new way of behaving, after a while it begins to feel normal. Not smoking has become normal, and eating organic food is now normal. So is staring at little screens all day. Whether this is good or bad is debatable.
But some things must always be recognized as abnormal. Normal is a president who at least publicly respects people who are different; abnormal is overt racism and disrespect.
Normal is cooperating with other countries on world issues; abnormal is insulting even your allies. Normal is protecting the vulnerable, such as children and the disabled; abnormal is cutting off funds for the poor and disadvantaged. Normal is respecting sexual boundaries and honoring honesty; abnormal is sexual assault and blatant lying.
We mustn't forget what normal is, and we mustn't stop expecting it. Whatever our religion or our politics, a "normal" social culture is the context of our daily lives. Allowing that culture to become debased will harm all of us for decades to come.
MAYA PORTER
Johnson
It happened all over
My sister was a labor delivery nurse for 30 years. She saw thousands of nine-month births, but did not report to her superiors, afraid she'd lose her job and her license. So she kept her mouth shut, went with the flow, because "everyone was doing it, it was happening all over the country" at the same time, according to my sister.
She admitted to me, "Even I did it. My son was a full-term baby. Right on schedule." It takes a real warrior like our stable genius, resident rump, to be the one to tell the truth about these nine-month births. Now maybe finally we can get this stopped because it's wrong.
How many of you knew this was going on and yet did and said nothing? I am so mad at my sister. I threatened to report her but she said, "Too late, Mary. They were all in on it with me. Every single one of them knew."
MARIANNE BEASLEY
Fayetteville
Unexpected pay raise
Last Friday, our normal payday, our farm manager came up to me to inquire about his pay raise. I was somewhat perplexed because we only adjust salaries on July 1, so I told him there must have been some sort of computer error, but that I would look into it.
I immediately examined his last two pay stubs, as well as those of all our other employees, and to my surprise all of their checks had increased from the previous week. Upon further examination, I discovered that each employees' federal withholding tax had decreased, resulting in each of them getting a pay raise.
I knew that President Trump had signed a tax-reduction bill, but I never dreamed that it would have such a sudden impact upon all of our employees. I know that each and every one of our employees will spend their additional salary, which should stimulate our economy even further. I am writing this letter to simply say: "Thank you, Mr. President, for remembering the everyday average worker in America, and I will make sure that all of our employees know who to thank for their unexpected pay raise."
MIKE FREEZE
Keo
A conduit for feeling
Can a rock concert make you cry? If so, how many songs will it take to make you cry?
These are questions that I did not know were questions until the Jason Isbell concert on Sunday.
The answers: Yes. And two. With "Something More than Free."
I need to preface this with a confession. The only reason I was at that concert was because of my husband. He read an article about Jason and put a bug in my ear. The next thing I knew, I was hitting refresh a million times at 9:59 a.m. the day the tickets went on sale. And thus, we were there.
A week before the show, we started streaming Jason's songs through our phones and our cars and in our house. But a song on your stereo doesn't match up to a live experience. It doesn't replace the feeling you get when the drums beat through your heart. It doesn't match the way a guitar can vibrate in your throat like a scream.
How hard do you cry before it becomes a sob? When is a human body no longer a body but a chord in a melody?
These and other questions remained unanswered until Sunday. The answers themselves came in a form other than words. At "Last of My Kind," I let myself go. I released myself from the responsibility of remaining calm. I released myself from the fear of someone judging, someone seeing. I had already cried and allowed myself to keep crying. I became a conduit for sound and for the raw feeling exposed by guitar strings and piercing vocals and honest words. I let myself slip.
It was, in Jason's words, a quiet carnage.
JENNY MASSANELLI
Little Rock
Majority's obligation
Our democracy--and others like it such as Britain and Germany--is built on a foundation of bipartisanship and compromise. The majority party has always had the obligation to deliver the votes needed to pass legislation, if not on their own then by negotiating in good faith with the other party to craft legislation which can get enough votes to pass. Having a majority was never designed to be a blank check.
The president and the GOP have had a full year to develop a budget proposal and work with their counterparts to find a middle ground. They did not. The shutdown is on them.
KELLY McCLEARY
Bentonville
Editorial on 01/24/2018