Smug, self-righteous
The Thought Police have arrived. They are the smug, the self-righteous and self-important who sit in judgment of the rest of humanity. The Thought Police demand that society's thinking must align with theirs. Or else.
Now one of the Thought Police has written a Voices letter telling me and other common mortals how to apologize. Her arrogance is overwhelming, not that in her conceit, her wokiness, she will ever recognize it.
If you do not follow the demands of the Thought Police, they will vilify you as intolerant and bigoted, ignoring their own vast intolerance and bigotry. They will label you as "insensitive," but have little or no respect for your sensitivities. They are bullies.
This is still America, and an America for all of us. We still have freedom of thought and speech, no matter how unacceptable it may be to others. We are under no obligation to surrender ourselves to their sanctimonious directives.
These pious zealots have no right to "re-educate" us. America has always held a revulsion for countries which use this tactic to control their people. It is now in use here, and the Thought Police are making big money from it.
America is now reduced to banning books. Burning them is next.
SUE JOYCE
Hot Springs
Convention of crazies
As I was passing through the house the other day, I noticed my wife had the TV on one of those 24/7 news channels with five minutes of real news and 55 minutes of biased pot-stirring for the rest of each hour. They were interviewing a white militia group interested in government control, and in the next segment a Black militia group interested in government control, and then a Ku Klux Klan guy who just liked the hats. Then the perfect solution came to me.
All of these groups--the white militia, Black militia, Ku Klux Klan, Proud Boys, skinheads, Nazis, QAnon and holy war enthusiasts--should have a convention. The best place would be the old part of downtown Dallas. Plenty of B&Bs and huge vacant lots to park their rocket launchers and all-terrain vehicles. They would decide on one big war which we might call The Civil/Race-Baiting/Take Over the Government/Holy War, and the winner gets to run the country. We could set this up at some neutral site ... say, Greenland. No, better yet ... Siberia. Vlad would most likely love to host this event. All of our "righteously fine people" could take their face paint, camo, body armor, plenty of ammo, AK-47s, AR-15s, their buffalo hats and plenty of bottled water. ESPN2 could cover the event, and of course, the NRA could be the commercial sponsor.
What a win-win! These groups could set up camp and commence to wiping themselves from the face of the planet, leaving us normal people alone. The next time someone saw them it would be archaeologists rediscovering them with a couple of mammoths and a wholly rhino. Meanwhile back at home, the only people with weapons capable of killing, say, 150 people in 60 seconds would be the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, and the only guns we would need are to hunt deer, ducks, squirrels and rabbits. Oh, and skeet. I hear that's a trendy thing now.
WADE GREEN
Camden
Save Terry Mansion
As a lifelong member of the Little Rock community, I was dismayed to learn that the magnificent 1840 Terry Mansion at Seventh and Rock streets in Little Rock has been left to deteriorate. In addition to its historic and aesthetic appeal, the stately old house, built by Albert Pike, holds fond memories for many of us.
As teenagers, my friend and I would walk by the canopied yard and chat with its resident, Mary Terry, whose confinement to a wheelchair, it has been said, did not prevent her from traveling the world. Her pet parrot, perched on her shoulder, added to our conviction that we were in an exotic and uncharted land.
In the late 1950s, Mary's mother, Mrs. Adolphine Fletcher Terry, figured strongly as a positive force in the Central High crisis. In the parlors of the Terry Mansion, the Women's Emergency Committee was organized, and the group eventually caused the defeat of segregationist school board members and reopening of the schools. Adolphine's brother, John Gould Fletcher, was one of Arkansas' most notable literary figures.
Currently, the house, which was donated to the city for use by the Arkansas Arts Center, sits abandoned and decaying.
What is now raising some eyebrows is that a permanent endowment of over $1.6 million was generated in the 1980s by volunteers and was to be managed by the museum. Where is this endowment now, and why is it not being used to maintain and repair the building it was set up to protect? Meanwhile, $140 million is being spent for a new museum. It is troubling to think the museum would neglect the Terry Mansion and unimaginable to think it has not offered any accounting to the public for the whereabouts of the funds donated in all good faith to protect it.
JEAN CAZORT
Little Rock
Description of a fool
President Joe Biden says women can do anything as good or better than men. If anyone believes that, they are a fool.
Men generally are stronger and faster than women. Fact-check true. I saw a college track meet and the men were faster than the women in the 50-meter run. I can do more pushups than my wife, although she can do practically anything else better than me. Women cannot father children. In a pinch, however, they can be excellent fathers.
I said all that to make the case that Joe Biden is a sexist, bigot and fool. People that voted for him may not be fools, but many were fools.
JOSEPH G. BARSOCCHI
Sherwood
For want of a drink
So now the righteous Republicans would deny even a sip of water to those waiting in line to vote. Perhaps we should ask these hypocrites: "What would Jesus do?"
MARY N. WATERS
Little Rock