LETTERS

— Doff rose-colored glasses

It’s very interesting to me that Paul Greenberg would choose John Cardinal Newman’s Seven Commandments as the basis of a typically biased, shallow opinion piece.

Newman was a deeply thoughtful, yet conflicted individual, a reformed Calvinist, who, in his own way, sought truth in basic beliefs and convictions.

Greenberg absconds with any truth or reality when reviewing President Barack Obama through the rose colored glasses of the Ronald Reagan years, which are now clouded and scarred, lending the viewer only a myopic imagining of what could have been if only Mitt Romney had been up there cheering on the capitalists and conservatives riding the backs of the working class.

Greenberg also bemoans the lack of a “great truth” in Obama’s speech. So here were the Obama faithful, responding in unison to the words of their leader. Perhaps they should have shouted “Amen, Brother,” a million voices together; I suspect Greenberg might have liked that, seeing how he uses Newman for his baseline. Or maybe it was the lack of a “great truth.”

Perhaps Obama should have said the Lord will punish the Republicans due to their persecution and neglect of the poor, the disabled and the uninformed.

Obama sought in his speech to deliver a unified message for all Americans to work and strive together for the betterment of us all. It is no surprise to me that Greenberg and his ilk apparently do not understand or accept that meaning.

J.W. EMERSON Elkins Take ‘service’ further

Thank you, Paul Greenberg, for very succinctly highlighting the very problem that we serving in the military said would occur when the draft ended.

While I agree with you on military service, I believe that universal (males and females) national service (not just military service) is essential for every citizen of a democracy. When every citizen has some “skin” in the game, they are inclined to be concerned and involved, i.e., vote.

I earnestly believe that when every citizen has an investment in the democracy, the nation will be better and stronger.

Leon Panetta’s parting gift to the Defense Department is the ideal time for an open discussion about national service and its enactment. We can design a system that ensures every citizen performs national service and avoid the abuses of the past that many used to avoid service.

Yes, I am proud of being an American and having served our nation. I am also interested and concerned about issues affecting our nation because this is my nation that I have invested in through personal service.

If ever a commentary deserved a Pulitzer nomination, yours certainly does.

ROBERT M. ANDERSON Centerton Songbird left the nest

My first Wednesday without Jennifer Hansen’s “Heart and Soul” column felt empty . . . like spring without a songbird.

KATHY WILLIAMS NEAL Little Rock Must combat stigma

Arkansas is ranked fourth per capita for teen pregnancy, sixth for gonorrhea cases, and seventh for chlamydia cases. The percentage of families and children in poverty in Arkansas are 18.4 percent, which ranks us fourth in the nation.

Contraception is not readily available or easily accessible for many women in Arkansas. There are only two Planned Parenthood centers in Arkansas-one in Little Rock and one in Fayetteville.This leaves the majority of our state to fend for themselves to get birth control and to face the judgment of family members or their church. Most schools teach only abstinence-based sex education, which does not properly educate teenagers on safe sex, and the risks involved with sexual activity in general, which leads to teen pregnancies.

The negative perception of contraception in Arkansas has to change before our state becomes overridden with teen mothers, disease, and families on welfare. All of these problems can be solved with a couple of preventative solutions, the first of which is inexpensive, easily accessible birth control. The second measure is better, more educational sex education in schools. Kids need to actually know about safe sex and what will happen if they are not safe.

I believe more Planned Parenthoodcenters and a semester-long sex education school course taught by trained professionals would help solve Arkansas’ ongoing problem and negative stigma toward contraception.

CARLY ROITZ RolandWomen still in danger

If you thought the war on women was over, you are sadly mistaken. Our legislators opened this session with a slew of anti-woman bills in hopes of ending safe and legal abortion in Arkansas.

Politicians in Little Rock are so preoccupied with banning abortion that they have proposed three different abortion bills, including one that bans abortion after 20 weeks, and another as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Both of these laws neglect the personal health and personal circumstances of a woman. These bills violate a woman’s body and take away her ability to make these deeply private medical decisions with her doctor and family.

I believe Sen. Jason Rapert and Rep. Andy Mayberry have no regard for women and are playing ignorance of the Constitution. I hope the Legislature reconsiders these horrific laws and shifts focus back toward the issues it promised us it would focus on-creating jobs and fixing the economy.

It needs to help the women and families in our state-not hurt them. BEV LINDSEY Little RockPromote good habits

Obesity is a problem that has been increasing for decades. Healthy foods are becoming substantially more difficult to obtain because of costs. It’s alarming that Arkansas is the seventh most-obese state in the country. Obese people suffer from a high risk of heart attack, joint pain, and reduction in mobility; because of social ridicule, it is not uncommon to develop low selfesteem or even depression.

To effectively handle this issue, a suitable solution would pay heed to younger generations, enforcing ideas of healthful dieting and exercise, in order to prevent the already large statistic from growing any further. Prevention strategies such as implementing mandatory exercise in schools, valuing nutrition more in school meal plans, and encouraging children to be more active are all plausible solutions.

However, a healthier school meal plan is probably the most feasible solution of the three, because a simple diet change seems more effective than mandatory exercise or encouragement to be healthy.

Having a healthier school meal plan would make a significant difference in students’ lives. It would provide more energy to the students, help them grow healthily, and it would introduce healthier alternatives to bad habits that they can apply throughout their lives.

CRAIG HINMAN ClarksvilleFor safety, assess risk

Divisive gun-control debates are not improving public school safety. When the Sandy Hook massacre occurred, the media skipped interviewing experts in public building security but instead polarized the discussion by turning to gun-control advocates and the NRA. Such coverage misses the point. To improve safety, schools require professional risk assessments.

School districts are attempting to increase security. However, it’s more than guards with guns. Federal and state governments have security personnel who could guide schools through steps that are battle-tested in public buildings. It starts with risk assessments that examine structures, entrances, parking, deliveries, response plans, etc.; identify threats and weaknesses; and offer measures to reduce risk. Would an assessment at Sandy Hook have identified that the plate glass beside the locked door was a weakness? A simple barrier might have kept the gunman out long enough for police to respond.

Eliminating this or that firearm is unrealistic. Madmen will just change weapons. Moreover, some of the worstattacks haven’t involved firearms. A truck bomb brought down the Murrah Federal Building, killing 168. At schools in China, knife-wielders have left dozens dead and injured in mass attacks. The deadliest U.S. school attack occurred in 1927 when a madman killed 44 with homemade firebombs.

Tell your elected officials you want professional risk assessments to achieve safer schools and less political polarization.

P.J. SPAUL BentonImmigration realities

At a recent town meeting held by Rep. Steve Womack, he stated that first the border must be secured before considering immigration reform. I wonder if that will ever be a reality. The reality for Northwest Arkansas is that something has to be done to address the issue of immigration reform now.

Why does Rep. Womack continue to sidestep the issue by talking about the border? There have been Hispanic residents in Northwest Arkansas for years now, documented and undocumented. It is time to stop talking aboutsending people back. That is virtually impossible.

If someone can truly find a way to fix the broken immigration system we currently have, then so be it. Let’s deal with reality. The reality is that reform has to happen. No one is asking for an easy fix. People are willing to do whatever it takes to gain a path to citizenship. So, let’s figure out how to accomplish that because it’s the only way to resolve this situation in our community.

It is time for some residents of Northwest Arkansas to acknowledge that the Hispanic community is here and has been for years. It is time for all of us to work together.

TOM ARNHART RogersFeedback Feeling of insecurity

Recently my wife and I returned from a cruise and came back through the Port of New Orleans, where we went through U.S. Customs to re-enter the U.S.

My wife inadvertently presented her daughter’s photo ID to the Customs officer (the ID photo looks nothing at all like my wife), whereupon the officer waved my wife through, back into the U.S.

This incident didn’t exactly give either one of us the warm fuzzies about the level of security at the Port of New Orleans or any other U.S. entry point.

What the hell are we paying these security people for?

PAUL BUDRUNAS Springdale Just mean-spirited

How mean-spirited can William McKinney of Scotland be, complaining about Gabrielle Giffords and her “baldheaded, exastronaut,” “dufus hubby”?

Maybe Giffords and Mark Kelly are thinking McKinney should simply disappear forthwith.

There’s a little gadget called a remote that allows you to change the channel when there’s something on that you don’t want to watch.

What would he do if some crackpot put a hole into the head of one of his loved ones? Lighten up!

JAN SEVERA Bella Vista

Editorial, Pages 21 on 02/13/2013

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