LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Members of the crew | Rise above divisions | A bad time to do that

Members of the crew

In 1965, New York City experienced a blackout that thrust millions into sudden darkness. That crisis is best remembered for the grace with which ordinary citizens took on the challenge. Some people walked into the middle of busy intersections to direct traffic during rush hour. Apartment dwellers stationed themselves in stairways, armed with flashlights, to help neighbors cope with the sudden lack of elevators. In 1977, New Yorkers faced a similar challenge, but the predominant stories were of violence and looting. Nobody seemed to be helping anyone else. It was as though 1965 was a visit from the Tooth Fairy while 1977 was a root canal without anesthesia.

Today, we are facing a far more serious challenge with covid-19. We have seen both positive and negative responses from our political leaders, but how will individuals react? The press has been filled with stories of hoarding food and supplies, as well as the subsequent price-gouging.

At the same time, there are examples of courage and self-sacrifice. There are all the medical front-liners who could beg off to protect themselves and their loved ones. Yet they keep coming to work as more and more of their co-workers are infected by the virus. There have been calls inviting retired medical personnel to return to the battle zone, and tens of thousands responded. Volunteers have come forward to assist with medical and social service activities.

A fourth-grader had sewed 24 face masks by the time her story was reported, and who knows how many she's done since then. Others are sewing masks and protective gowns. I'm sure you have seen stories of countless companies stepping forward to support the effort, but each of those commercial efforts was the result of individuals.

For some elderly and unhealthy people, their best contribution is to home-shelter diligently so as to avoid further burdening medical facilities. There is no end of possibilities for enlisting in the fight, and no end of individuals willing to take up the challenge. As Bucky Fuller used to say, "On Spaceship Earth, we are all members of the crew."

EARL BABBIE

Hot Springs Village

Rise above divisions

In pondering the coronavirus pandemic that we are working through, I am questioning what unity really is. Some want to blame Trump for poor response, and most of those have been blaming him since January of 2017. On the other hand, some defend and take up for Trump no matter what.

Will our nation rise above the red and blue division and everyone get behind our current task force so we can become a country of red, white, and blue united? We need to listen to each other and maybe spend our time working in the yard or reading mystery novels instead of spending all day reading or watching opinion shows of only people we agree with.

JOE FINLEY

Fordyce

Decision disappointed

I read Professor Preston Jones' column of March 27 with amazement at his callous disregard of human life, especially that of the elderly and infirm. Those opinions belong in a different place, in a different time. It's acceptable to give life to them in your Voices section, but I'm disappointed in your decision to air them in the "Guest Writer" section.

SARKIS NAZARIAN

Little Rock

A bad time to do that

I was surprised and discouraged Friday to see three young boys in the Heights Kroger parking lot soliciting donations for a soccer tournament/program. They were in the parking lot (not the entrances) and were immediately on shoppers as they exited their cars. Literally waiting outside a car door.

I wondered why they would collect for an event that likely won't happen, and what adult thought it would be a good idea to send boys out when we are supposed to limit contact with others.

D.K. BROWN

Cammack Village

Time to use the 25th

In these perilous times we live in, why can't someone "do the right thing," as Spike Lee once put it? Our so-called national leader is not getting the job done, so someone needs to tell him, gently at first, that it's time for him to go. He could announce that he wants to spend more time golfing, tending to his businesses or with his family.

We should all hope that there are some thoughtful, responsible Republicans (maybe the ones on Wall Street?) who can talk sense to other Republicans, especially those Republican senators who are hoping to be re-elected to office in November. No need, of course, to bother conferring with Arkansas' own Senator Cotton. Those other challenged senators might then talk some sense into the members of Trump's Cabinet, who would be needed to agree to collaborate on firing up that 25th Amendment. Needless to say, they don't need to invite Attorney General Bill Barr to that meeting.

As for Impeachment, the Sequel, maybe it needs to be simplified--you know, easier to understand. Make it for the lying, which never stops; they just keep piling up, starting with the whopper about that biggest crowd of all time at the inauguration. Who should you believe, Trump or your lyin' eyes? Maybe one lie was too many, and that should have been the end of the Trump regime.

And why would a so-called major political party have even allowed someone to run for office after all that silly lying about Obama's birth certificate? Plus there were all those readily verifiable examples of poor character and behavior by Trump. You can look it up; there's nothing fake about it. (The real meaning of "fake news" is bad news.) If there's ever a book called Profiles in Non-Courage, Reince Priebus, who was the head of the Republican National Committee, should get the first chapter for allowing this walking, talking disaster to even happen. How can that man even sleep at night?

JACK W. HILL

Bismarck

No butts in the pews

On Easter Sunday, I think almost all of the churches will be packed full of emptiness.

FRED WEED

Sherwood

Editorial on 04/02/2020

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