Kristin Barker of North Little Rock recently wrote the editor to proclaim that one's health and diet is their business alone since every person has their own dietary needs, and not all taste buds are similar.
I couldn't agree more. I'll take things a step further. She wrote that she urged our neighbors to "quit pushing their agendas on others and shaming them for not following the same plan of action for their health."
She further explained that eating should be viewed as a basic human function along with "the advantage of the freedom to eat how we choose."
You go, Kristin! While we're further digesting such wisdom, I'll insist the same holds true for personal convictions and beliefs, as in our freedom to think, worship and speak as we please according to the same freedoms that allow us to choose our food.
But all too often today in the easily offended, politically correct society we've allowed to develop, speaking one's genuine feelings often results in nasty, sometimes violent, reactions from those who believe themselves "tolerant," while insisting we believe and think only as they do.
I say let us as Americans eat as we please for long as our freedoms survive, regardless of others who might choose to judge our choices. While we're at it, let's freely speak our minds and live the lives we select under these same freedoms. Life passes quickly. There's no room in our land of the free for belligerent self-appointed thought and preference police. Those who prefer living that way should look to totalitarian nations.
Calling all cars
Living in a smaller Arkansas city like my hometown of Harrison has it advantages for sure, along with the realization that, as with all such tightly knit communities, the eyes of eternal vigilance are always watching.
The best evidence of this is published regularly in the Harrison Daily Times under the heading Police Log. It's also perhaps the best-read page for local readers wanting to know who was spotted acting suspiciously, or just to be entertained. Regardless, the uniformed officers of Harrison are always busy.
Following career stints in Little Rock, southern California, Phoenix, Chicago and even New Jersey (Gawd forbid), I assure you these items would not have earned news space in those crime-ridden metroplexes.
Yet in a down-home folksy way, I enjoy the log because, well, some items make me smile and feel involved with my caring community while others, well, just cause me to shake my head. I'm also excruciatingly aware that not much goes unnoticed or unreported across the business districts and residential neighborhoods.
The best way to explain is through examples of recent items from this log, which do not include at least five daily reports of unrestrained dogs running through neighborhoods. Sit back, take a long swig of coffee (or tea) and behold the pandemonium:
"A caller reported a suspicious vehicle on Ozark Street. The driver was going slowly and would stop on occasion. An officer said the 16-year-old boy driving said he was just driving around and would stop when trying to clear his throat."
"A caller reported a male subject walking on Walnut and drinking from a whisky bottle, but an officer said it was a bottle of sweet tea."
"A caller reported two toddlers playing unattended near Forest Heights Elementary School, but an officer said the children were playing with their parents."
"A man on North Maple called to report a pit bull charged his great-grandchildren while they were playing outside. An officer said the dog, which was 16 years old and blind, was returned to the owner."
"An employee at The Links reported a man taking a dog into an open field at the complex to let it defecate, then didn't clean it up."
"A woman called to report she asked a man in a vehicle to stop driving so fast on North Chestnut, then he cursed at her and sped away eastbound on Prospect."
"A caller reported a female subject had been in and out of her vehicle numerous times outside Walmart and had even been hanging upside down."
"A caller reported two children on the roof of a house on West Rush. An officer made contact with the mother of the children, who said she didn't realize they had been on the roof of the storage shed."
"A woman called to report and aggressive and reckless driver threw a tobacco spit cup on her windshield."
"A man went to the HPD to turn in a wallet he found. It was returned to the owner."
"A caller reported two subjects smoking a controlled substance on a parking lot off Lake Shore Drive."
"A caller reported a toddler playing with a used syringe and spoon in a residence on North Third Street."
"A caller reported a male subject taking pictures of girls walking around Lake Harrison."
"A woman called requesting an officer talk to her juvenile son who was misbehaving and using strong profanity. An officer said the boy agreed to be more respectful."
And so go the activities regularly reported to police 'neath the penetrating glare of public scrutiny in my beloved Harrison, population 13,000. Betcha this could also be written in most smaller and midsized Arkansas communities.
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Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.
Editorial on 05/21/2019