Consider right vote
To the Arkansas General Assembly: You represent all the voters of the state. The ERA deserved passage the first time it was introduced by Ms. Joyce Elliott. Her heart is still in the matter; so is mine and many others.
I have been to the Capitol many times and am always honored to be there. I like to go to the Vietnam memorial and sit quietly and meditate. A young man from Sheridan has his name there. I recall when word of the death hit our town. We all mourned with his family. He, like the others, died in service to all--not just men or women, but all of us.
Please consider the right vote the next time it is brought before your body. Thank you.
ANITA C. GATZKE
Little Rock
History on doorstep
Revisiting a popular song of the mid-1950s called "The Green Door" prompted some thoughts about doors. The earliest door may have been a rock rolled in front of a cave or an animal skin hung across an opening to a tent-like shelter. The earliest depicted doors are found in paintings in some Egyptian tombs. Archaeologists have dated a door unearthed in Switzerland at 5,000 years old. Probably the earliest hinges were of leather or rope.
No matter how hard you try, you can't close a screen door quietly. The slam is part of the package. A kitchen cabinet door left open magically becomes a magnet for a head or a knee. A doggie door can easily become a ratty door or a mousey door. Monsters sometimes hide behind behind a kid's closet door. A door left open invites flies; a fly left open invites embarrassment. A revolving door is a trap for the unwary.
I suspect no sound is worse than hearing a jailhouse door clang shut behind you unless it's the eerie sound of a screeching door in the darkness. Some doors are bossy, telling us to pull or push, while others are kinder and open themselves. A locked door may invite curiosity or produce anxiety.
In one of his introductions to The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling said, "You unlock this door with the key of imagination." That same key will unlock a lot of other doors as well. The shortest horror story on record, credited to a writer named Frederic Brown, concerned a door: "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door." The use of "man" instead of "person" shows that this was written some time ago.
And the best door in the world is the door on the refrigerator.
JOHN McPHERSON
Searcy
Time sure is flying by
They say time flies when you're having fun. I'm not sure about the fun--what does one do for fun at 91? But time sure is flying by, and I'm happy to be here.
Thank you, Democrat-Gazette, for letting me bloviate from time to time.
CLARA FISHER FIELDS
Bentonville
True essence revealed
Seeing Trump wrapped in the flag last week reminded me of Samuel Johnson's quote from 1775, "Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels."
Slowly but surely he is being shown to be a serial liar, a cheat with his taxes, wives, banks, business partners, maybe even with his patriotism. Our national debt has skyrocketed, our trade deficit continues to increase despite tariffs that only hurt Americans, and he continues to try to divide the country along racial, religious and ethnic lines with voter suppression tactics and Census suppression.
This is not how you make America great.
ED PARKS
Rogers
The ability to govern
The Constitution of these United States clearly and unequivocally expresses the right to govern for the three branches of the federal government. This document is detailed as to what is expected of those serving the people of the United States, yet the right to govern is not the prime question these days, it is the ability to govern.
We see a national government that, in many ways, has lost its ability to govern. We see policies and procedures being set up and then rescinded by our national government which tends to confuse the citizens of this country. We see money being thrown at supposed problems where problems may not truly exist. We see valid policies set up in the past being taken apart selfishly. We see a leader who hop-scotches from subject to subject and is not able to solve an underlying problem: Are the people truly being served as the Constitution outlines?
There is an artificial blending of the three branches of government which does not serve the citizenry well. Decisions are made based on party choice, whether they have planning and good sense incorporated into them or not. The idea of the Constitution to provide checks and balances has been, to some extent, undermined.
The result of this inability to govern is that we have ceased to become a people dedicated to individual and collective democracy and have become selfish in what our intentions and actions show.
How do we solve this important and vexing problem, that is, the inability to effectively govern? The answer is to once again become the people we truly are, united in purpose and willing to work with one another. How we conduct relationships, whether personally, in our government, or across the world, tells much about us as a people.
GEORGE WILKEN
Little Rock
Editorial on 03/13/2019