LETTERS

SILOAM SPRINGS — Downtown like a ‘wonderland’

A visit downtown during December brings delight to so many in Siloam Springs. The Christmas lights stretched from building to building across Broadway, and the outline of the From: varied storefronts with Meredith Bergstrom that warm, Executive Director bright glow Main Street Siloam Springs - it’s “like a wonderland,” said one visitor. We posted a picture of downtown lit up at night on our Main Street Siloam Springs Facebook page, and that was one of the 33 comments and 309 likes the picture received - more than triple the highest response on any other single post. Some other comments: “Is this heaven? It is beautiful!”; and “Might as well be Bedford Falls.”

We deeply appreciate the city of Siloam Springs’ commitment to making this a good place for its residents, and Main Street Siloam Springs wants to say a special thank you to the Electric Department employees, who ensures every year that our lights turn on, and stay on, in the evenings during the holiday season.

We also want to thank the people at our Parks and Recreation Department, who made a special effort this year to re-decorate our beautifully restored fountain in Twin Springs park.

The meaning of Christmas, Easter

In Jasmine Banks’ column published on Jan. 2 titled, The meaning of Kwanzaa, she most likely upset the majority of the Christian population of your readership by describing Christmas and Easter as “totally made up” holidays just like Kwanzaa.

But, while Kwanzaa might be “made up” inorder to help those of African heritage embrace its most beautiful parts, Christmas and Easter are far from “made up” holidays to a Chris- From: tian. As a reminder to Keith Kretzer Ms. Banks, Christmas is Siloam Springs the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem, and Easter is the celebration of Jesus’ raising from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion.

These are the two most important events in the lives of Christians. Jesus was born to be our Savior and he was put to death and rose again to save us from our sins.

You, Ms. Banks, have every right to celebrate Kwanzaa in whatever way you decide. And yes, that is OK. Just do no lumpyour “made up” holiday in with Christmas and Easter, implying that they are equal. They are not! When you do that, you insult way too many Christians. Instead, you might try embracing Christianity. Celebrating Christmas and Easter the way they are supposed to be celebrated, with prayerful reverence and respect, will be life changing for anyone, including you.

So, enjoy your Kwanzaa celebration in December. Before you do, however, find a church and attend a Good Friday service, an Easter Sunday service, a Christmas Eve service and a Christmas Day service.

You might be surprised at how “real” we Christians are with our faith. Who knows, you might just find another reason to breakdance.

Fact not fiction

“If someone wrote a novel about a man who was raised from childhood to resent the successful and despise the basic values of America - and then went on to become President of the United States - thatnovel would be considered too unbelievable even for a work of fiction... Yet that is what has happened in real life.” This quote is from a recent article in the Arkansas Demo- From: crat-Gazette by Thomas Barbara Foreman Sowell.

Dr. Sowell Siloam Springs is a highly acclaimed economist who rose from a poor, black, fatherless boy in Georgia to become a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University.

It is unbelievable that a person such as Dr. Sowell so aptly describes, brought up with every primary influence in his life from childhood into adulthood vilifying America and never before managed anything, could become the leader of the greatest country in the world - twice.

People still sit enthralled by his empty campaign rhetoric.

After four years how can this be ignored: Economic growth an anemic 2 percent, unemployment claims up with millionsstill unemployed, increasing poverty and food stamps, businesses afraid to invest the millions that sit idle on their balance sheets, $6 trillion added to the debt, Moody’s threatening to lower the U.S. credit rating - again! - because of the deficit spending and debt. Here’s a clue: It’s far past blaming Bush.

Consider this: How long would you last if you were borrowing over 40 cents of every dollar you spend? That’s what this government is doing. Here’s a joke: All that revenue set to come in from those dastardly “rich” people will run this bloated government about eight days.

The countries of Europe are going bankrupt with riots in the streets from decades of the same course Obama has set for America - redistribution of wealth and government control.

Dr. Sowell has spent his life studying economics and social issues and knows a disaster when he sees one. Too many people, either from indifference, socialist ideology or economic ignorance, don’t seem to realize the America we know is in peril.