When spotlight’s off
Thank you, John Brummett, for the scary prediction of another term with President Trump.
I believe he currently is reining in his true self in order to get re-elected, and that voters should consider how Trump will treat us and the rest of the world when he isn’t campaigning and doesn’t have to “behave.”
LISA MILLIGAN
Fayetteville
State’s energy policy
There is coming legislation that is important to the citizens of Arkansas. We are behind the curve for energy reallocation.
We have a unique opportunity to change the path of Arkansas energy policy.
As a biologist, I know the repercussions we will face if we do not act on climate change. Energy production is one of the largest contributors to this problem. In December, we have the opportunity to pass smart regulations to change net-metering rates for privatized solar energy production. The current rate for residential net metering is 0.5 to 1, while the commercial rate is 1 to 1.
If Walmart deserves a fair rate, why don’t we?
This is a great opportunity for small investors to do their part and make it worth the investment. The Public Service Commission should rule in favor of fair metering rates for all Arkansans.
DYLAN WEBB
Fayetteville
Learning at own pace
Our 16-year-old daughter Brenna is a brilliant student who absorbs information very quickly. In a way, she treats academics as her “sport.” That is normally a good thing, but Brenna felt bored and unchallenged at her brick-and-mortar school.
After a major move that required us to take our kids out of school, we decided to enroll Brenna at the Arkansas Virtual Academy (ARVA), an online K12 Inc. school that allows her to learn and excel at her own pace.
Brenna is doing phenomenally at ARVA. She is not being bogged down with busy work or forced to learn at her classmates’ levels, and she has already moved up a grade. She is very entrepreneurial just like her parents, and her schedule allows her to travel and participate in a statewide academic business competition without missing school. She is already building a retail restaurant and is thinking of a career in finance and accounting.
After seeing how much his sister enjoys school, Brenna’s younger brother Daniel has decided to move to ARVA. He is not an independent learner and struggles academically, but fortunately the teachers at ARVA are incredibly supportive. We couldn’t be happier with our children’s education.
KAREN STEWART
North Little Rock
Our troubled heritage
It seems white supremacy is in the national DNA. Christian white settlers employed it to justify occupying the land of Native Americans and enslaving Africans. The American Constitution institutionalized it, and the gene morphed into racism with the science inspired by Charles Darwin. Some try to exorcise it, but it remains latent and easily aroused.
Neoliberalism, on the other hand, is an acquired trait. It came when the Reagan Revolution of the 1980s replaced the New Deal and WWII ethos of community and shared wealth, responsibility and sacrifice with the radical individualism of F.A. Hayek and Milton Friedman, popularized by the novels of Ayn Rand.
National angst descended upon the country with the loss of postwar global hegemony and loss of manufacturing jobs and social equity in a globalizing economy mismanaged by neoliberals. National dystopia followed soon thereafter with the election of Donald Trump. Trump faced contempt from a neoliberal elite who failed to take him seriously; but when he won in 2016, he gained their support and control of the GOP by tax cuts, deregulation and transforming class anger at the country’s monied into evangelical and white-supremacist anger toward non-Christians and non-whites … especially such immigrants. It’s Trump, neoliberals, evangelicals and white supremacists who now define American greatness.
Sadly, when a raging biblical prophet is desperately needed to express righteous fury at the follies of man and the ruin of God’s creation, Christianity is fragmented and marginalized, if not itself contributing to the present dystopia through moral uncertainty.
DAVID SIXBEY
Flippin
Open more libraries
I love books and libraries, and I love old buildings. The Argenta Branch Library has all of these things. I believe that Mayor Joe Smith, his staff and the library board can solve the financial problems of the library.
The library is an asset to the area and the community. Mayor Smith has promoted this area with wonderful results and, with the additional housing, more and more people will continue to use it. If he can find money for a restaurant at the airport, he should be able to find it to provide library services for the people, particularly the kids in North Little Rock.
We don’t need to close libraries; we need to open more. They are the continuing education, recreational and cultural services of a city. May I suggest we open school libraries during the summer months? They could provide books to neighborhoods without library services, enrichment classes, tutoring, storytelling and computer classes. The possibilities are endless.
Let’s not stop there. Why not open the gymnasium for recreational activities? Basketball, badminton, physical education, Zumba for kids, gymnastics. Instead of couch potatoes, athletes and healthy kids.
Yes, it will cost money, but empty buildings teach nothing. We need to think outside the box. Business people have complained for years that companies won’t come here because our people don’t have the knowledge or skills. They should step up to the plate and underwrite a summer library program. And we have a wealth of retirees with skills they would be happy to share.
STEPHANY BAILEY
North Little Rock