Letters to the Editor

Protect young minds: Rewrite history

I'm a Yankee. Attended school in the North. Learned the Civil War was primarily about states' rights and secondarily about slavery. Visited Gettysburg and other Civil War battlefields. Mourned how many (650,000-plus) lost their lives on both sides. Visited the Jefferson Davis Museum in Biloxi, Miss., and was awestruck by the thoughtful letters Davis (the president of the Confederacy) wrote about the rights of the nation he governed.

I've lived in the South for 35 years. I thought how silly a colleague was whose ancestor was a slave owner and who still railed against the "War of Northern Aggression." I felt sad for a quite bright and successful colleague, a descendant of slaves, who wore her heritage like an angry chip on her shoulder. She saw life through the lens of oppression.

My ancestors had not yet arrived in this great country when the Civil War raged. They were being oppressed by the Kaiser, and escaped to America in the great migrations of the early 20th century.

The statue of the Confederate soldier on the Bentonville Square is as much a part of history as the Lincoln Memorial. The pictures in your newspaper's Aug. 14 edition show a woman from Ozark Indivisible urging for the removal of the statue. Then what? Stop teaching about slavery and the Civil War in school to protect young minds from hate? No! This is a teachable moment: acknowledge the violence that happened in Virginia, talk about what caused it, and draw some conclusions. Teach about the cause of the Civil War.

Stop labeling everything you don't agree with "hate." Value opinions different from yours. Leave the Confederate statue in place! And teach your kids a valuable lesson, to listen and respect the views of others. If we don't know history, we are bound to repeat it (attributed to many, including Socrates and Winston Churchill).

Karen Wenzel

Bella Vista

People on left hurt their chances with Trump voters

Not long ago, one of your readers wrote that those who voted for Trump were bigots and racists. In the Aug. 15 newspaper, Bill Rogers wrote that in his opinion evangelical Christians who voted for Trump clothe themselves "in the guise of followers of Christ" when in reality they are "as bigoted and racist as the ones promoting fascist ideology."

I am hardly an evangelical Christian, but I beg to differ. The people I know who are evangelical Christians are probably less likely to be racist bigots than those who administer the admissions offices or teach in our colleges.

To sum up: If those of you on the left continue to address those of us who voted for Trump as ignorant, godless, deplorable, racist bigots, we will be certain to vote against your interests at every opportunity.

Charles M. Sturm

Harrison

Trump works to withdraw U.S. welcome to immigrants

Recently, I have been traumatized at what is clearly an isolationist, exclusionary and angry spirit, as evidenced by our president and his more ardent supporters. And I ask, "Where does any American get the audacity to insult all of the world's peoples except for those lucky enough to already be here?"

The president's intent -- and that of the oligarchs who made sure he was elected -- is, clearly, to withdraw the welcome of our nation to a diverse humanity that once was openly welcomed. Surely there are enough of us, each of immigrant stock, who know the spirit of Miss Lazarus' words who will work to restore the wonder of the nation that once opened its doors and our hearts to the world.

Don Switzer

Rogers

Commentary on 08/22/2017

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