Letters

Offended by cartoon

I am responding to the letter from Ms. Elizabeth Anliker, who was writing out of concern about the Wumo comic strip the previous Monday. I too wanted to express my outrage at the blasphemy and sacrilege in this cartoon. This disgusting disregard of Christianity expresses all the evils in troubles in our world today.

A holy family, Christians, as Ms. Anliker said, is fair game for those who want to bully and disparage those with whom they do not agree. (Satan is working overtime!)

If done so by Christians targeting other groups' religious beliefs as well as gender and/or race, etc., all fury breaks loose. Ms. Anliker covered all the wrongs in our world today. Sad, but true.

People should be very careful when targeting others, especially those of us who will indeed make a stand for our God and his precious son, our lord and savior Jesus Christ. Our beliefs and our love for spiritual and heavenly knowledge and healing far supersedes anyone or anything this world (earthly) has to offer.

Ms. Anliker, I applaud your courage in making a stand for what is right and good. God bless you and yours for your conviction and courage. Please allow me and any others with courage and conviction to speak out as you so bravely did.

Let me be the second to demand that this comic strip be removed from this newspaper. I invite any other Christians to voice their opinions as well. Christians are offended.

CINDY BIUS

Marion

Leash-law scofflaws

Last week I took my dog to Petit Jean State Park. As a family riding bicycles/walking their malamute approached, I stepped into an open field to let them pass and work with my young, large hound mix. Instead, they stopped because their dog slipped its collar. As they re-collared their dog, the husband asked if their dog could meet mine. Thinking he meant to walk the dog over, I said yes. Instead, he unclipped the leash and watched from his position 10 feet away as his dog ran over. In less than 60 seconds there was posturing, jumping, growling, and I had been knocked to the ground.

As I nursed my bruised knee, the man immediately went into dog-owner denial: He couldn't understand how this could possibly have happened, his dog had never done anything like this before, etc. Maybe I should start taking my dog to a dog park so it could learn how to behave (!!??).

To all those people who think their dog is too well-trained/behaved to ever require being on a leash: We have these laws to keep everyone safe, including you and your dog. While your pooch may be perfect, another dog owner who sees you breaking the leash law and decides their pet can run free may have an aggressive ankle-biter just looking for a fight. Any time I see a dog off-leash where leash laws apply, I have to wonder what other laws that owner doesn't think are necessary. Add this to a justifiable concern that I'm running the risk of ending up in the middle of a dog fight, and perhaps you can understand why I don't want to be anywhere near you and your dog.

And for all those leash-law scofflaws who think using a lead is preventing their pooch from expressing his inner wolf, think again. Dogs are so far removed from their wolf ancestry that, unless specifically trained, they have no idea how to act in the wild and are at greater risk of being injured. They can get more than enough exercise on a retractable lead. Do your dog and the rest of us a favor: Use a leash.

KATHERINE TUCKER

Perryville

In all of world history

No event in the history of the world has been greater than the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many today scoff at those who believe. Some even claim Jesus never existed because they cannot find his grave. But the grave is for the dead and he is risen and very much alive. The living God is still alive and for those who do not believe, he still opens blind eyes to see.

The word is still right and will always be right. Those who seek perfection and are in denial will never find it until they seek to change themselves and not what is right, for the perfection they seek is found in the name of Jesus Christ.

FLOYD HOPSON

Hazen

Whose hollow words?

Mr. Robert Kittelson shows such disrespect for the young people uniting with others to make a plea for their lives. I see he offers no solutions, but doesn't hesitate to criticize students who are asking our representatives to pass some responsible legislation.

JANET KOCORNIK

Little Rock

Safety for the children

How to make our schools and children safer: Gun control? No, smartphone control! Yes, smartphones in the hands of our children. Since 1918, there have been a total of 204 lives lost in school shootings in the U.S. Since 2001, we have lost over 60,000 children due to the use and misuse of smartphones.

Per the University of North Texas Health Science Center research, since the advent of the modern "smart" cell phones in 2001, 16,141-plus teens have died in car accidents while texting. According to the National Crime Prevention Center, over 50 percent of children with cell phones have been cyberbullied and have bullied someone else. According to the U.S. Secret Service, in 66 percent of all school shootings the shooter was cyberbullied via smartphones.

Children, teens and young (under 25) men and women commit suicide at alarming rates (5,504 in 2014). It is the second ranking cause of death in children and young people behind accidents. Suicide rates have increased 24 percent since 1999. Peer victimization in children and adolescents is associated with higher rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts (JAMA Pediatrics, 2014). Add another smartphone-related 1,000 per year.

Two hundred and four deaths in school shootings in 100 years is certainly tragic, but please, let's address the cause--not just the how. The "how" will take care of itself when we come to grips with what is actually going on in a youth's mind.

JOE TUCKER

Cabot

Harness wind energy

As a nation I believe we should do something to help stop global warming. Chemicals from factories and plants are reportedly breaking down the ozone layer, causing the greenhouse effect. The Trump administration isn't doing anything to help with this issue.

Instead of using fossil fuels like oil, we should go electric with wind turbines or water power. Some states have already started using turbines, like Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. They are some of the top producers in megawatts. Arkansas is one of about 10 states that produce very little or no wind energy. Electricity is paving the way to the future. We're not the first state, but let's not be the last to use wind energy for everyday needs.

JAMESON LANG

Little Rock

Editorial on 03/31/2018

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