See the naked truth
This year's presidential campaign reminds me of the Hans Christian Anderson fable "The Emperor's New Clothes." In it, the Emperor, known for his sartorial splendor and focus on himself, is approached by two weavers. They tell him they can weave a beautiful new silk outfit for him that cannot be seen by anyone who is deceitful and unfit for office. Seeing this as a foolproof way to rid his kingdom of unworthy subjects, he paid a large sum of money for the clothing.
When fitted with the new outfit, he was assured by the weavers that it fit perfectly. Naked, he looked in the mirror, unable to see the new clothes himself. However, since he had told everyone that not seeing the garments proved dishonesty, he could not reveal that he himself saw no clothing.
He continued to seek others to comment on his outfit, including an honest old minister he trusted. None were willing to say aloud that the Emperor was naked. They complimented his taste and praised the garments' fine tailoring. Pleased, the Emperor ordered more new clothes from the dishonest weavers. He planned a great procession to flaunt his finery.
Everyone lauded his appearance and the garment's fine train held up by courtiers as the parade began. As he marched along, it took an innocent child to say aloud, "But he has nothing on at all." As the people echoed, "He has nothing on at all," Emperor Trump would not quit marching, invisible train held aloft by loyalists.
PAT LILE
Little Rock
Ignorance is glorified
I commend Philip Martin for his charitably phrased Chicago Cubs "curse" parable, in which he contrasted faith to facts and took Donald Trump's partisans to task for supporting their candidate on the basis of "gut-feel." Permit me to be a bit less charitable. Faith is what we fall back on when reason, facts and hard evidence aren't available to guide us. Our ancestors believed that during a solar eclipse the moon ate the sun and that these events portended some large-scale disaster. Once we figured out that an eclipse was merely the product of predictable orbits and portended nothing, we moved on. Today, faith in the hidden meaning of eclipses, a flat earth, or for that matter, Noah's worldwide flood represents more than just a quaint and harmless throwback to our infancy as a thinking species. Such faith is at odds with what is actually known about the planet, and to believe otherwise constitutes a denial of reality. And when faith denies reality, faith becomes a destructive force.
The cure, of course, is education, but education seems to have fallen into disrepute. When I was growing up, ignorant people used to be embarrassed about their unfortunate condition. But somehow over the last few years, ignorance and stupidity have gained credence and been glorified as virtues. The result is that reason and facts have been displaced by what one's buddies believe, and truth has been redefined as any tripe that one feels strongly about.
And now comes Donald Trump. I believe there is more than enough fact-based information available about Trump's past and present behavior to completely crater any forlorn belief in how well he would perform as president. End of story for those who value facts over uninformed, irrational belief. As for the rest, I am reminded of an ancient saying: "Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad."
ALEX MIRONOFF
Fayetteville
Mutters and gestures
As executive president of SPECTRA (Society for Pronunciation and of Elucidation of Cantrell To Respect Arkansans) I am proud to announce our newest member of the Board of Directors. This person drove his vehicle from a supermarket to his home mostly in reverse down Cantrell into one of the most busiest intersections in Little Rock, and to his home without any form of accident, and probably ignored some mutterings and gestures of other drivers.
He will be feted at the next appreciation banquet to be held at Williams Junction.
DAVE STUFF
Little Rock
Snookered by judges
For a variety of reasons, I think those of us needing medical marijuana have been snookered by the last-minute rejection of Issue 7 (the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act) on our November ballots. Issue 6 (the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment) may not get enough votes to pass now that those cast early for Issue 7 are being tossed out.
In past letters I have told why I know how beneficial marijuana is. I have studied both the act and the amendment and advocated for the act because of important differences I noted.
With the act, the Department of Health would supervise growers, dispensaries, and testing. The amendment makes no mention of testing and establishes a triumvirate of supervisors: the Department of Health, Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, and a five-member Medical Marijuana Commission appointed by government officials.
The amendment limits the number of growers, practically guaranteeing monopolies to the chosen few who could charge as much as they want, which brings to mind the price-gouging of Martin Shkreli and Epipen. Insurance companies are unlikely to help pay (mine would not pay for Marinol), so it looks to me as if the availability of this important medication will be limited to the affluent, leaving the rest of us to suffer or become criminals to get help we need.
As numerous people noted, neither medical marijuana proposal is perfect. If implemented, they would require adjustments and it is far easier to adjust an act than an amendment.
We've been snookered.
NANCY MILLER SAUNDERS
Durham
Highway speed limits
I enjoyed the thorough description of the Arkansas Good Roads Foundation's efforts to quantify the tangible benefits of adequate highways within our state.
I might disagree with their inclusion of tax-funded construction costs as an "improvement in economic activity." Their circular conclusion indicates that tax-funded projects are included in the economic impact--when one remembers that tax-funded expenditures in themselves are not contributors to the state's economic activity but are consumers of tax funds. Improved highways certainly aid in the basic economy; constructing them merely consumes taxes.
My criticism is that we have funded construction of excellent highways while retaining speed limits of the Carter presidency. In spite of radical improvements in automobile and highway safety we remain limited to '50s-era speed limits. In rural areas, improved highways merely contribute to increased city and county revenue from traffic citations.
It is well within the realm of reason for Arkansas to adopt speed limits similar to Texas' speed limits if our highways meet Texas construction criteria. I think that a comparison of similar constructed highways in terms of accidents, fatalities, etc., would merit an increase in speed limits--and a real increase in economic activity.
WAYNE ELLIOTT
El Dorado
Others failed as well
In reading about the day in history on Oct. 27, I noticed that on that day in 1858, Roland Macy opened Macy's Department Store in New York City. It was his eighth business venture, having failed the seven other times.
It makes you think about what has been said about the Republican nominee for the top job.
DOROTHY N. BUCHANAN
Marion
Editorial on 11/03/2016