Letters

To conserve resources

All parents find common ground in their desire for a healthy, happy, and prosperous life for their children. Climate change may be the biggest danger to this wish. There are simple, everyday actions that can help combat climate change. Conservation is one of those actions. Conserving resources is not only healthy for the world, but also for the pocketbook.

• Drive less. Carpool, consolidate trips, walk or bike more to work or for recreation. Take the kids on the Razorback Greenway Trail; it's one of Northwest Arkansas' greatest assets.

• Buy local. Did you know the average American meal travels 1,500 miles from source to plate? Connect with local farmers. Shop farmers markets. Local is better for the community and better for health. Start a garden with your children. They will love the experience.

• Consume less and recycle more. The U.S. has 4 percent of the world's population yet we use 25 percent of the world's resources. Children enjoy participating in recycling.

• Come together. Team up with local organizations such as the Citizens Climate Lobby.

Lifestyles can be part of the solution or a reason for the pollution. Everyday habits will impact the future. Our children are counting on us. "We're the first generation to feel the impact of climate change, and the last generation that can actually do something about it."--Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington state.

ROBERT PEKEL

Rogers

On wealth and power

Seems that, to many, Donald Trump represents wealth and power. No doubt many voted for him based on this perception. He promised voters and they hoped to "get a piece of the action."

Trump's brand of wealth and power, for all the grand appearances, is merely an illusion. True wealth and power confer what some call a satisfied mind. The satisfied mind has little need to prowl for the next deal, the next you-know-what to grab, or who next to bully or demean. Nor does it need to surround itself with allies who are also trying to squeeze their camels through the eye of the needle.

The son of man/God, whom many seem to worship with mostly lip service, thought that the greatest among us were the ones who were least. True power and wealth are in kindness, compassion, truthfulness, and serving the needs of others.

The Trump brand of wealth and power will ultimately fail. The old wisdom says the bigger they are, the harder they fall. If we hitch our wagon to Trump's star to gain the world, we stand to lose not only our own souls, but the soul of America.

Better buck up.

DAN VEGA

Fayetteville

All that time, energy

It seems that there is an awful lot of time and energy spent on trying to find out what is going on with the problems in Washington. It's like a cancer; you try to treat it for a while, then you get serious and cut it out.

I believe Donald Trump's lying and falsehoods are a distraction that can be cleared up, I think, by him being forced to show his tax forms. All this can be done by the Congress.

CARL ANDERSON

Hot Springs Village

To show appreciation

Last Thursday, I was a member of a far-too-small an audience that had the pleasure of enjoying a wonderful performance of Irish and Scottish music titled Celtic Spring 2017, sung by a quartet of beautiful women whose lovely soprano voices blended perfectly and whose facial expressions, body movements, and enunciation gave meaning to every song. They were accompanied by a pianist, a drummer, a gifted Celtic harpist, and an amazing flautist who could play five types of flutes. Against a screen of breathtaking scenes illustrating each number, young singers from the STEM School of Science, Mathematics and the Arts in Hot Springs provided a choir, while four young dancers expressed the feelings and meanings of several songs.

This entire professionally arranged and performed evening was under the direction of Deleen Davidson of "The Muses Creative Artistry Project," supported, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Proceeds from this particular event were donated to support Family Promise, an organization that works with local churches to provide housing and meals for homeless families for a week at a time, another reason it was too bad that the attendance was so sparse.

I write this letter because we in Arkansas so often fail to realize and show our appreciation for some of the wonderful and creative activities that are occurring in our state, and this one additionally involves young people. Look for them!

SALLY STOCKLEY JOHNSON

Little Rock

An awfully bad idea

In what reality would anybody think it is a good idea to allow guns in bars? Booze and guns do not mix. It is like throwing gasoline on a fire. Are our legislators so besotted with power that they are bereft of their senses? Do we really want to go back to the wild west mentality of kill or be killed? Even the wild west sheriffs knew to make them check their guns in before they celebrated on Saturday night.

Unless you live in the inner city of some major city, we are pretty safe in this country. Most of the rest of the gun deaths are domestic disputes or suicides. It is bad enough to try to force universities and colleges campuses to arm themselves, but it is unconscionable to allow guns in bars!

Where is the adult in the room in the Legislature? All those who voted for this ill-gotten bill should be taken to the woodshed, then sat in the corner with a dunce cap on their heads.

KEVIN FLEMING

Kingston

Editorial on 03/15/2017

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