Must work together
It's my impression that the American back is straining under the weight of unsolved problems which multiply when too little is done to effectively reduce the burden of enough of them. A state of paralysis fueled by consistent, extreme dissension becomes a weapon against the spirit and will of the people and the country.
We must find ground on which to move forward on all issues--give a little to gain something. A generalized habit of bowing a back will yield it broken in time. This is not wise.
Humans are protectors of our fragile world. If we wish to thrive, we must learn to see it all--the vast array of needs, wants, obstacles and threats to existence of everything on this planet and beyond.
No one part of any ecosystem anywhere can survive alone. We must learn that, know that, and act on it--together. It's the only way.
KAY CARPENTER
Little Rock
It took no time at all
With regards to the Real ID article in the Style section: My husband recently got his. We made sure he had the paperwork and ID to smooth it along. I even gave him a checked-off list. It took no time at all, he said.
The lady at the counter was professional. She even noticed that in two of his ID cards he was wearing the same shirt. The exact shirt he was wearing at the time. "See," he says, "this time of year is when I have to get ID. It's winter and it's cold and this is my favorite flannel shirt. I've had it for eight years."
CANDI LYNN CABANISS
Monticello
Choice based on faith
A letter last Saturday stated that Jesus Christ is a myth like Zeus or Thor. Really?
To believe Jesus is the son of God is an individual choice based on faith, but to say he is a myth--give me a break.
RICK WHITE
Bentonville
L'etat c'est moi? Non!
Comrade Orange equates his problems, his dilemmas and his bulging portfolio of reported serial wrongdoings with our country's best interests. As the judicial system slowly and deliberately tightens the noose around his zesty, bulbous neck, he decries that this is a "disgraceful situation" and an "attack on our country in a true sense." Let's not overlook Putin's Pumpkin's invocation of "witch hunt," his go-to description of any effort to expose his seedy resume chronicling a lifetime of bad acts.
Through rheumy eyes, all he sees is that l'etat is under attack, substituting l'etat for himself.
What about the rest of us? What do we see?
A wall of orange obscures our vision. On closer examination, we discover a 6'3", 300-pound behemoth clad in an orange jumpsuit doing what we've all been waiting for: the infamous perp walk.
L'etat c'est bien!
HARRY HERGET
Little Rock
Our brilliant founders
I would like to thank Coralie Koonce and Kenneth Weber for responding to my defense of the electoral college. I didn't think my "diatribe" so much disparaged direct democracy as decried its efficacy in electing the president.
I agree with Ms. Koonce that direct democracy works better in smaller settings, and am quite familiar with the history of all the examples she cited. I wish I had a few moments to tell her of the tumultuous histories and sorry ends so many of them had, such as the treatment of Themistocles of Athens at the hands of his fellow citizens. I also agree many Americans have lived more than one place. I have lived in eight states and Canada, but brought my beautiful (and legal) Latina bride back to my hometown because I liked it here better. I don't want Little Rock to become New York or Arkansas to become California.
Mr. Weber is right that the original electoral college proved terribly flawed, and as he rightly points out, the amendment of 1804 corrected the defect that led to a president and vice president of different parties and a tie caused by too much party discipline. If he thought I only "insinuated" that I was a traditional lover of the Constitution, I must have been unclear. It is our compact by which our government was formed, and was made to protect our liberties under a representative democratic republic. But Weber may be correct about it being outdated, as President John Adams said it was suited only for a moral and religious people. If he thinks doing away with it would be a good idea, he is free to advocate we do so. He need only get the support of three quarters of the states to make it so.
I, for my part, am glad to put forth my diatribes in favor of the brilliance of our founding fathers, a more moral, intelligent, and principled group than any political gathering in my lifetime.
KARL T. KIMBALL
Little Rock
Not from disrespect
I am responding to John Hartnedy's letter, "Better obey teachers."
I am a teacher, and I agree that we must be in control of our students to do our job effectively. However, the students walking out and protesting are not doing it out of disrespect for their school or teachers. Rather, they want their schools to be a safe environment for them to learn and us to teach, and I say more power to them. I have a problem with the NRA's infantile attitude. We need more gun control. Get guns away from felons and the mentally unbalanced.
I also commend the Catholic High students' moments of silence to pay their respects to those innocent lives so wantonly destroyed. Why didn't the gunman's parents ever take him to the woodshed and tan his jacket when he was young? That is what would have happened had he been my kid.
Again, one should see the whole picture. These kids mean no disrespect and only want their schools to be safer, and this teacher wholeheartedly supports them.
LESLIE PUTMAN
El Dorado
Editorial on 04/12/2018