OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Pay teachers better | Doesn't belong there | Upswell of ignorance

Pay teachers better

Though I am Arkansas born and bred and I love this state, I do believe we have our heads on backwards. The same day the basketball coach at the University of Arkansas is celebrating on the sports page with the head man over his (the coach) getting a multimillion-dollar contract salary, on the front page is a short story about teachers getting a $2,000 a year raise.

Talk about insults! They do basically the same thing: teach. Don't bother to say athletics pays its way; it doesn't, and these people who donate to U of A athletics deduct that much from their taxes. Taxes we pay. Talk about inequity.

I am for a coach making a decent wage, but we've gone haywire. Wouldn't it be grand if we were one state that would encourage people to give to kindergarten the same amount that they give to sports? Arkansas would really be No. 1 then.

EVELYN NELSEN

Jonesboro

Doesn't belong there

Just a few short months into the presidency of Joe Biden and it seems he has already proven himself to be the personification of ignorance and incompetence. I believe he is without exception the worst president this country has ever had. He possesses exactly zero redeeming qualities and is as dumb as an ostrich. To paraphrase the great Winston Churchill: Joe Biden is a fiasco wrapped in a calamity inside ineptitude.

Let's enumerate just a bit of what is presently occurring: It appears the southern border is now as porous as a coffee strainer, there's conflict in the Middle East, the national debt is skyrocketing, jobs are decreasing, prices are increasing, crime is rising, construction of a pipeline is shut down by presidential decree, another is hacked by Russian criminals, schools are teaching white children to hate themselves and all children to hate their homeland, and the list goes on and on and on to infinity and beyond.

However, I believe this is not all because of the president, but Democrats as a whole. It seems these reprobates are actively working to destroy America. They have never had a problem placing a millstone around the necks of Americans, and they absolutely do not mind putting us out of work. Unlike them, I shudder to think of the hardships facing our children and grandchildren.

I believe Joe Biden does not belong in the White House, and his accomplices do not belong in the halls of Congress. They are the worst of the worst and they all belong in an asylum.

RICHARD D. SANDERS

Benton

Upswell of ignorance

I found three quotes that might help explain the events of Jan. 6.

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can also make you commit atrocities."--Voltaire.

"Any formal attack on ignorance is bound to fail because the masses are always ready to defend their most precious possession--their ignorance."--Hendrik Van Loon.

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups."--George Carlin.

HESTER BRYANT

North Little Rock

Equal opportunities

In recent times, much has been written and discussed about terms that often generate disagreement and discord. Woke (in a pejorative sense). Critical race theory. Diversity, equity, inclusion. These concepts are bandied about without seeming consideration for arriving at common definitions.

Last week, while visiting museums and historic places on a trip to northwest Arkansas, I came across the preamble to our Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness."

All women and men are the reference point for this aspirational document, and where should that take us?

Some of this era's initiatives lead us in a potentially unconstructive direction. I certainly believe that all Americans should be treated respectfully no matter what their race, ethnicity, or gender. However, if by equity we mean that everyone is guaranteed the same outcomes irrespective of effort, I am concerned. Doors can and should be opened, but we must take personal initiative to walk through them.

I hope that, through equality of opportunity, avenues are opened to everyone regardless of differences, and that in accordance with meritocratic principles, those who work the hardest and achieve the most by exercising honest effort rise to the top. And as a former student of mine, Emmanuel Acho, writes in his book, "Difficult Conversations With a Black Man," we need to engage in genuine, open conversations with those who are unlike us so that we might "seek to understand before being understood."

Every one of us should have the opportunity to thrive in and contribute to the success and well-being of this great country.

ARNOLD E. HOLTBERG

Hot Springs Village

Salute to heroes

Memorial Day will soon be here, and Voices wants to hear from you about your military heroes--dad, brother, mom, aunt, whoever. Who do you think of on this solemn day?

If you haven't had a letter printed in the past 30 days, tell us. Keep it under 300 words, and send it by email to voices@arkansasonline.com, or through our Voices form at arkansasonline.com/contact/voicesform.

Get it in by noon May 27, and we'll do our best to get it in for Memorial Day.

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