Right word for them
What a cohesive collection of essays on the Nov. 27 Voices page!
First, Dana Kelley warns us to use the right word. He implies that an exact word might even save our political system.
Next, Bob Reynolds complains. In the face of Mr. Trump's refusal to accept the certified results of the election that defeated him, our four Arkansas congressmen, two senators, and our governor remain silent. Lies by the president, temper tantrums, and wrenches thrown into the works produce no murmurs from our elected Republicans.
But then, lo and behold, on the same page, Representatives Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack, and Bruce Westerman, our four congressmen, unite to address the people of Arkansas. They want us to know about ducks. How the four of them have worked to restore our culture with legislation to restore ecosystems to improve duck hunting. Oh, and an almost unintended consequence: some carbon sequestration. The message from our congressmen: duck.
So, back to Dana Kelley. What is the right word for our politicians?
Ashamed seems exactly right.
CHRIS SPATZ
Conway
Mind-boggling idea
Let me count the ways on conspiracy and fraud in our most recent national election: Starting at the local level, thousands (perhaps tens of thousands) of election workers up through the county and state election commissions, and then secretaries of state and multiple governors, all met and conspired to turn the election in favor of our apparent president-elect, Joe Biden. Really? Perhaps they all met secretly in Fiji during this pandemic to map out strategy, or was it a Zoom meeting back in September? Give me a break!
Time for those weak-kneed GOP legislators and governors (including the mighty Asa) to admit that Mr. Biden won a decisive victory.
Just sayin' ...
JOHN COOKE
North Little Rock
Founders and illness
The founding folk that wrote the U.S. Constitution would be appalled at the "originalists" on the Supreme Court ruling on gatherings in places of worship.
They knew epidemics up close and personal. They saw spouse, child, brother, neighbor, friend, drop dead or linger painfully and die. They saw entire households wiped out, or orphaned surviving children grieving. They were too familiar with "Quarantine" posted on a front door, and with smallpox, yellow fever, typhoid, cholera, diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, plus the likes of ague and the flux that defy modern definition. They knew what it was to be spared, and to be grateful to be alive.
Everyone was to be free to worship in any way, or in no way, from home, to stay long enough to stop death. It would have been so obvious that they would never have thought to have to write it down.
CHARLES FEILD
Little Rock
Waiting and watching
To our congressional delegation: I recall the late Sen. Dale Bumpers describing his difficult vote in favor of transferring ownership of the Panama Canal. He knew well that most Arkansans did not support the transfer of the canal. He studied the issue, visited the Canal Zone, and engaged Arkansans in an objective and fact-based dialogue about the implications of his vote (see David McCullough's "Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914"). He later reflected that part of being a senator included a respectful and moral teaching role--sharing facts, scenarios, and the courage to make a morally correct decision and not just one that is politically popular.
My guess is that you all would not have agreed with Senator Bumpers, but I wonder what moral and informed reflection, such that Senator Bumpers engaged in, would steer you back toward deliberative democracy and a sense of decency.
At the time of this writing, none of you have challenged President Trump's palpable lies regarding the election. History will situate each of you on the side of a dreadful, hateful and proven liar--not on the side of democracy.
Your collective solidarity will serve as future cautionary tales for our young people and a reminder of the lessons of modern American history--the embrace of intolerance, abuse of power, and reckless hero worship puts in peril our quest for a more perfect union.
I pray that each of you will reflect on your lack of moral courage and seek a more loving and bipartisan path, starting with recognizing the fairness and accuracy of our recent national election. Many of us here in Arkansas will be waiting and watching--I certainly will be.
DON ERNST
Little Rock
Against forces of evil
A very sad day has come and gone: Nov. 3, 2020. A very sad day for every citizen in the United States of America. A very sad day for the Constitution of the United States of America. A very sad day for the Bill of Rights. I am making a daily prayer for the country and our citizens. The United States of America was founded as a Christian nation for our people escaping religious persecution in their home countries. Our nation has been the most caring and giving country for all mankind throughout the world. Yet today the forces of evil have succeeded in turning this nation toward socialism at the expense of individual rights and freedoms. Pray for our nation.
LOUIS BURNETT
Little Rock