Letters

United again, briefly

Sadly, the United States soccer team's run in the FIFA World Cup has come to an end.

Upon reflection, it felt as though, for a brief period, we as a nation were united again. Wasn't that a nice feeling, to be in support of something together?

The word "congress" means to work together toward a common goal or for a common purpose. It would surely be nice (though highly unlikely given the material with which we have to work--current Congress and its puppeteers) for We the People to have a functional, working legislative body that represented us--not their interests or puppet masters with deep pockets and false morality.

Just a thought, but as a professional cat herder I tend to daydream a bit, especially when my mind wanders back to the pre-Koch era. (Not everything goes better with Koch!)

Think about it--who is Congress supposed to be working for? Getting your money's worth?

STEVE GIBSON

Little Rock

Watching paint dry

Thank the soccer gods we lost. How the hell anyone could watch such boring stuff ... I'll guess most of the same idiots who voted for the sorry president they have in office.

ELLIS WILLIAMS

England

American ingenuity

A couple of weeks ago I was shown another reason to love our country. I was exiting a Wal-Mart parking lot and there was a long line of cars waiting to make a left turn. There were no lines of paint on the pavement, but these 10 cars were neatly arranged so that others could get in on one side or easily make a right turn from the other side. While they undoubtedly were dealing with frustration, I was able to quickly exit right.

I do not hear stories like that from friends who travel to our ancestors' countries. Most Americans show courtesy through a combined attitude of problem-solving and orderliness that I believe is unique to us. It may be such little things that best support our love of country.

TOM PARKS

Rogers

Need more winners

I am writing this in regards to Pat Callaway's letter. I can't agree with her more!

I lived in Illinois, where I bought many tickets, scratch-offs, etc., and it seemed like I always won something. It wasn't much, but I won something.

I can understand why the Arkansas Lottery is making no dollars. I think it is because people have stopped buying because of never winning. They take our money, but give nothing back.

I have bought scratch-off tickets the Natural State Jackpot since the lottery started and have probably only won about $50 if you add them all together. And I am thinking very seriously of discontinuing buying them as it seems no one ever wins.

I think the Lottery Commission had better rethink their tickets for payoffs if they want to see a pickup in sales. If they make a few more winning tickets ...

EDNA M. JOHNSON

Hot Springs Village

A land time forgot?

I once knew a land ...

It was a land where opportunities existed and dreams were possible, if you worked for them. You might not become rich, but you had all you really needed.

It was a land where you felt safe and could walk alone at night without fear, a land where all laws were enforced and justice was fair and swift.

It was a land where the Constitution was upheld in the way it was intended, not interpreted to fit an agenda.

All its leaders didn't always agree with one another, yet when necessary they all agreed on what was best for that land.

It was a land where pride and patriotism abounded. Its flag brought tears remembering those who sacrificed to keep it free. Its anthem stirred emotion and was sung with dignity, hand over heart.

It was a land where God was revered, feared and worshipped, and that was God with a capital G, and that land prospered as no other ever had before.

It was a land where men respected ladies and ladies depended on them to support and raise a family.

It was land where a man's word could be trusted no matter what, and his handshake actually meant something. Honor was earned, not simply bestowed.

It was a land where imagination flourished, even in the minds of children at play. Other than love, little else was needed for them to find happiness.

I once knew a land ... its name was America.

LES BLEDSOE

North Little Rock

Case a necessary evil

I believe Judge Chris Piazza's ruling on same-sex marriage was a necessary evil. It was necessary in that the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment apparently requires that the legal benefits of marriage cannot be restricted by sexual preference. However, it was evil in the sense that it spits on the institution of holy matrimony into which my wife and I (and other Arkansans wed under religious auspices) have entered by equating same-sex unions with the sacrament of marriage.

How reconcile these competing interests? The legal and religious aspects of marriage are distinct, and the solution is to treat them as what they are--two different things. Our Legislature should remove marriage from the authority of the state to recognize, authorize, tax, or regulate in any form since I believe it is a religious institution. Then, it should establish the right and processes for civil unions between as many consenting adults as see fit to enter them. Such unions would have all the legal standing in terms of property, insurance, liability, etc., as a marriage does today.

If three men, two women and a duck-billed platypus all agree to enter a civil union, I believe they have the right to do so under the First Amendment's freedom of association. That's America. But there's no reason to demean the religious institution of marriage in the process.

STEPHEN DAWSON

Little Rock

Editorial on 07/04/2014

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