LETTERS

Swearing allegiance

Wow, is Joe Jeffers really that confused? He seems to imply that, by pointing out the hypocrisy of Mark Pryor’s campaign ad, another writer must believe that a Christian can only support the Republican Party.

I think the truth here is that one who opposes the murder of unborn children and the legalizing of homosexual marriage should, when entrusted with the power to vote for government endorsement, vote against such endorsement. To swear allegiance to the Holy Bible then vote to sanction actions it teaches against is hypocrisy.

I believe that is a valid point to be made and other believers cannot support politically, entrusting that power to a hypocrite, whether a Democrat or Republican.

Mr. Jeffers then uses the words “my kind of Christian.” Does the Bible or Jesus teach kinds of Christians?

I think his last comments tell it all. He quotes Mahatma Gandhi, who reportedly once said he liked Christ but not Christians because they are so unlike Christ.

This is the crux of the matter. No one can be as pure and holy as God. So he went to the cross and died a horrific death so that, by my faith in his promises, I can be redeemed in his image.

MICHAEL SANDERS Little Rock It’s not inconsistent

Phil Robertson was characterized by Michael Wertz as a “religious man,” not a godly man; Wertz also labels Robertson as “homophobic.” I believe Robertson isn’t fearful of homosexuals-wouldn’t that be a definition of someone with a phobia? Robertson aptly describes homosexuality as a sin in agreement with God’s word, and consequently, like other sin, a behavior which is destructive.

“Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Does this agree with Wertz, who says, “other spiritual minds get from the Bible that we are all … better off to learn how to love rather than judge one another”?

So if a person is an alcoholic, can I love him without endorsing his abuse of alcohol because it is destroying him? If a person is a thief, can I love him without endorsing his behavior because it will lead him to prison? Unlike Wertz, I believe that if God loves us, he wants the best for us, and that means he doesn’t accept our destructive and sinful behavior. This is not inconsistent with a God who loves us, and commands us to love one another.

GREGG MUELLER Little Rock

Need someone to care

Several people in our town have been feeding stray cats for years. When it’s cold, I take warm food and water to 16 cats that I feed. The problem is not enough people care.

In some towns, they have a building for the animals to live in so that people can go to one location to feed them. I believe this will never happen here, but every living creature needs a home and someone to care about them.

Irresponsible people are the only reason we have strays. They all need to be sterilized to cut down on the population.

Something I think we don’t hear enough about is puppy mills. They should be outlawed. Puppy mills are just for money and the dogs aren’t cared for. You see people everywhere selling them, only greedy, ignorant people. Stray dogs are everywhere. People in our county pick them up daily.

If you can’t take care of an animal, don’t take one home. If you see abuse, call the police and make sure something is done about it.

MAXINE McCUE McCrory

Lesson in mathematics

I guess that when they taught arithmetic in school, Dr. Bradley Gitz wasn’t paying attention. His column “Incoherent inequality” seems to show a lack of understanding that at any given time the total wealth of a nation is a finite quantity; if anyone takes a larger share of the pie, there is less left for others.

It is indeed a zero-sum game, unlike the class-grading system that he likens it to.

ARTHUR LUCK Maumelle

Should expect better

Dispassionate scientific objectivity is what we expect from a writer with a background in science, especially a Ph.D. In the case of Bradley Gitz, we are sorely disappointed. His analysis of fast-food workers and the growing wage controversy was pathetically one-sided, saying that “why they should be paid that much … has been left largely unexplained.”

That’s ridiculous. In Australia the minimum wage is $16 per hour and Wal-Mart and the American fast-food joints are over there making money. It’s only about 50 cents higher for a Big Mac Down Under. This implies that a $15 minimum wage here is doable.

According to a study by the University of Illinois, American fast-food restaurants cost taxpayers about $7 billion per year in subsidies that are a consequence of the poverty of their employees. The study shows how taxpayers help make fast-food joints profitable by absorbing costs that ought to be the employers’ responsibility.

There are very compelling arguments that by paying a living wage, the entire economy would be boosted significantly. This is based upon the heretical assumption that the economy is driven by demand rather than by tax cuts to the wealthy. Demand is thought to be enhanced by income.

In my opinion, lack of empathy is one of the worst problems we have in this country. To live in the world of the working poor is to see things a lot differently. I myself have done so. I’d wager that if Dr. Gitz were to spend a few years working two or three minimum-wage jobs, feeling stressed out, exhausted, desperate and still failing to make ends meet, he might not be so enamored of the status quo.

PETER JOHNSON Garfield Always a bad hair day

I watch TV all the time since I became disabled.

I might (maybe) watch the show Duck Dynasty if they get rid of those hideous beards.

They live in the South, so I can’t help but think they have lice, fleas and ticks. I’m also not sure they don’t have food in them.

I just can’t watch that show with all the gross, filthy beards.

JOANNE MORRISON Rogers