LETTERS

LITTLE ROCK — Catalysts for change

Violence and great tragedies we see in our nation; for a country whose founding fathers’ beliefs included the Lord above, we are blessed in the same moment with a great message of hope and optimism.

Our Constitution and the right of free speech allow our oft-maligned news and media to be bring us the gruesome details, yet in that same moment is the evidence of great love and the caring from law enforcement, the clergy, health professionals and the average Joe. This is the tremendous blessing I see as the hope and a balance for the bad. Indeed, life is good and evil, tragedy and happiness.

In my own life, I’ve found that with every negative, there is a positive, but I must look for it. Tragedies can raise the level of awareness of the potential for change of the motivating factors behind this evil. Poverty, loneliness and mental illness are as much a part of the problem as is the availability of a weapon.

As a physician, I see mental illness and society’s archaic attitudes toward it as a priority. Is it not as worthy of our time, money and attention as are the common cold and influenza? Awareness of the problem is one of the catalysts for change.

BEN JACOBS Greenwood

Sure, it makes sense

Concealed-carry laws? Amount to a police state.

Thirty-round clips? They’re needed for self-protection.

And the victims? Arm them, too.

STUART JAY SILVERMAN Hot Springs

Blame game’s begun

As the horrific events on Friday unfolded and the blame game commenced, politicos and talk-show hosts were quick to point their fingers straight at the National Rifle Association for the unthinkable tragedy in Newtown, Conn. A meaningful dialogue has to begin for ways to understand how events such as this can happen and how they can be prevented.

An elderly friend told me that guns have been around for a long time, but this type of killing only started in the last 25-30 years. What is different about the last 25-30 years ? The first thing that comes to my mind isn’t the lack of gun control but the advent of very violent, very graphic crime on television and video games. Imagine what, over time, unending exposure to these shows and games might do to a young, impressionable mind, especially if there may be a disorder involved.

Perhaps we should start reviewing what our children are spending their time watching on television. Perhaps the networks should consider what ramifications might exist for continually broadcasting shows depicting violent crime.

THOMAS BOOTH

Little Rock

Must think differently

It’s painfully obvious that the combination of weapons and certain people can be extremely deadly, and often we are even willing to go to war over it. Now it’s time for us to find solutions and think out of the box, and look for how other societies have reduced violence.

CHRIS DELACRUZ

Bentonville

Nothing to do with it

Elizabeth McIntosh’s piece from the Washington Post, reprinted in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, was quite good and long overdue. However, I believe a correction should be made.

The “T” on a casualty’s forehead has nothing to do with a tetanus shot. It is a signal, often daubed on with the casualty’s own blood, to medical personnel indicating that a tourniquet has been applied so they will know to look for it and deal with it to avoid the loss of a limb due to lack of blood circulation. The technique is still in use service-wide, and should be known to anyone who should ever have the unfortunate need to apply a tourniquet.

WALTER G. RIDDICK III

Little Rock

So right they’re wrong

Just when I thought the rightwing Republicans had sunk as low as a snake in a wagon-wheel track, here they go again. The Republicans voted to block the Disability Act in the Senate.

They do not trust the United Nations. The right-wing Republicans apparently believe the UN is the devil’s worship, that anything that actually brings people and nations together is the work of the Antichrist. It’s the endtimes myth.

The end-times teaching is a lie. Now more than ever, we need separation of church and state. These misguided, self-destructive teachings continue to get in the way of rational policy.

The United Nations, although not perfect, is blessed by God. It is a step in the right direction. It seems clear to me that when states trade with each other, when there is a forum in which they can resolve issues and disputes and when they surrender the right to wage war to a central governing body, there is peace.

I have just described the United States of America, where 50 states have done just that. We no longer go to war with each other.

There is no bloodbath required for Jesus to return to Earth. When he does, these misguided, lost souls probably will try to kill him again in the name of God, just like the Jews did years ago.

When I pray tonight, I will ask God to consider going ahead and rapturing these people. I don’t care where he sends them, just get them out of here.

They have done enough harm.

BUTCH STONE

Maumelle

Bit of wishful thought

Wishful thinking isn’t bred through stupidity, but more through ignorance of the other side of the story. And the debate on guns can be a polarizing one, indeed. Someone stated, “The truth is that it is the combination of guns and people that kill.” Yes, he is right.

Well, if that is the case, then it is a combination of people and cars that cause wrecks. It can also be a combination of people and the Internet that traffic child pornography. We can also say that it is a combination of people and full-contact sports that cause bullying and inferiority complexes. I guess it’s a combination of people, sex and syringes that spread AIDS.

But the real truth is that it is the wrong people combined with guns that cause killings, which is why an honest citizen like myself carries a concealed permit.

Taking guns out of the hands of the law-abiding people grants leverage to those who ignore the law. So, to believe that all guns can be taken out of the equation across the board can only be labeled as a flight of the imagination.

HEATH BREAUX

Greenbrier