Shouldn't be attacked
Before this recent election cycle began, I had resigned myself to the usual slew of attack ads and mudslinging that has plagued our political system for many decades now. I was willing to accept the fearmongering, the deceptive methods employed by shadowy out-of-state groups, and a complete disinterest in actually confronting the most pressing issues facing our state and the nation. I am finally outraged by one of those many ads on TV.
This particular ad asserted that Clarke Tucker was receiving support from the Hollywood elite. But instead of the usual characters of Pelosi and Schumer, the ad showed a woman that many in Arkansas are familiar with: Mary Steenburgen. Mary Steenburgen is a well-regarded actress who was born and grew up in Arkansas. Throughout her life Mary Steenburgen has done much to make her home state proud. She has received many awards for her acting, including an Academy Award, and has contributed to both national and local philanthropic causes, including the Oxford American, a Southern literary magazine nationally recognized and based right here in Little Rock.
She is not some nebulous outsider attempting to sabotage the state. She is a proud Arkansan who has exercised her right to express her opinion and is being treated in return with baseless contempt. We are fortunate that such an accomplished person can call Arkansas her home.
JACK O'MARA
Little Rock
Gazing at belly button
When you read Philip Martin's Oct. 16 column (heaven knows he pens many), your first question might be: Does anyone fact-check his material? But then again, how can you fact-check someone who is so off the wall? He obviously seeks wisdom by staring at his own belly button. It seems very probable he is part of the same cabal as Al Gore, although I'm not aware Martin makes hundreds of millions of dollars putting out a bunch of baloney on climate change as did Mr. Gore.
Remember back around 2007 or so when Al Gore claimed we have only a few years before complete disaster hits--like the seas will rise 20 feet and the polar bears will become extinct? The seas have risen only inches and the polar bears are reportedly more numerous than ever.
Back to the fact-checking--does Martin reveal his source for the talk of a $3 billion project to build a berm around lower Manhattan? Perhaps he and his fellow belly-button worshipers have indeed spent hours discussing this.
Don't forget, as Martin says, "Miami, as we know it, is over." So if you know anyone from that city, prepare to take them into your home at least for a few years until the sea waters catch up to us in Central Arkansas.
JERRY B. JACKSON
Heber Springs
Role models for kids
I am a white parent of white children who chooses to send her children to a Little Rock School District middle school south of I-630. I've taught middle school for over a decade here in Central Arkansas: private, public, charter. These jobs placed me in the unique position of knowing the ins and outs of the different systems. Choosing a school for my children was simple: public school. Why? Because my child is not better than anyone else's, and no one's child is better than mine. The choice of a tuition-based school implies the privilege of having money to spend on tuition. The choice of a public charter school implies the privilege of having reliable transportation to get there every day. Saying yes to a school with a gate encircling it means saying no to interacting with those outside it. I want my children to be raised with children from all walks of life. I want my children to know that they are not better than "other children."
LRSD teachers are legally obligated to serve all students who live within the district. They cannot offer a withdrawal form to parents when they tire of disruptive students. They cannot refuse to follow a student's 504 or IEP. They cannot skip mandatory state training, even when they know the absence will be used against them. They cannot refuse to teach a student based on race, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, pregnancy status, or citizenship. LRSD teachers welcome all students into their classrooms. They look at their students as more than their test scores. These are the types of role models I want my children to have.
As Johnny Key refuses to deal fairly with the teachers of LRSD, perhaps he should keep in mind a lesson from the Book of Romans: If one's gift is teaching, then teach. If it is not, then encourage and support those who do.
ALICE KUNCE
North Little Rock
From what I learned
I remember when growing up in the Baptist Church that John 3:16 was quoted often: "For God so loved the world" ... I guess that and the song they taught us about Jesus loving the little children ... all the children of the world ... pretty much makes God and Jesus globalists. They might even be for open borders. Check it out.
CHRIS HORAN
North Little Rock
Editorial on 11/07/2018