Letters

Blessings for holiday

The holiday season is generally thought of as a time of joy and love, but for many people, it's can be a time of isolation and loneliness. Some people, like my mom, have spent their later years living in a nursing home far from family and, therefore, miss out on being a part of family traditions with loved ones.

This past Christmas, my mom, Bobbie Holtzen, was able to experience the true meaning of Christmas as compassionate individuals visited her, sharing the love of Christ. Many children and adults from area churches, schools, and clubs visited her room at Autumn Hill Living Center in Berryville. She was showered with encouraging hugs, handmade Christmas cards, lap blankets, religious bookmarks, goodie bags of personal hygiene items, holiday cookies, candy and breads. Even Santa and carolers brought her smiles of joy.

My family and mom are newcomers to Arkansas. We have never witnessed nor been the recipients of such kindness and genuine love. If you were involved in these acts of kindness, we want to express our heartfelt thank you from mom, my family and each of the residents of Autumn Hill Living Center. May God bless you.

JUDY SANSOM

Greenbrier

Finds nothing positive

"You may have expected a more uplifting story ..." Karen Martin's Sunday write-up begins, quoting the speaker. Not from John Kirk I don't. Neither does anyone else who knows who John Kirk is.

If you hear him on public radio, it seems the only thing he ever offers is how horrible Arkansas is and was and how it is only getting worse all the time. He knows every bad thing about Arkansas that you could possibly imagine and he wants everyone to know about it. Every type of racial inequality, poverty, tragedy, hopelessness, every type of bad thing that ever happened in Arkansas--he knows and he wants everyone to know about it.

As a ride-share driver, I pick up people from all over town. The places he claims are segregated, as if certain races are the only people there and they don't ever move, are places where I find young people who moved in from out of state to work here and found a cheap place to live. Some have lived there a long time, but a lot of them have only lived there two or three years.

I live in the Otter Creek area where there are many races all living together, some in the same family. But that doesn't stop John Kirk. In his mind it's about 1950 every day. His job apparently is to document, push and promote the theme that Arkansas is one giant hellhole, even if it means saying segregation is more embedded, which it is not. He is pushing pseudoscience when he says that and if he truly believes his own pap--if it's really that horrible--you would think he would go back to England.

But as a wise man once said, there is nothing as hard as getting a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it. And his job title says everything you need to know about what to expect from him. If you ever hear him even once say something positive about Arkansas, do a write-up on that because it will be a cold day in July.

BILL McNEW

Little Rock

Fight climate change

I would imagine most of you saw the editorial cartoon in last Saturday's paper. A koala bear is standing in a burnt forest in Australia holding a shovel. His words: "Only you can prevent climate change." If that doesn't resonate with everyone, why not? It's a fact that the earth is warming. The fires are getting bigger, storms are becoming stronger and more frequent. Glaciers are melting, causing the oceans to rise, which leads directly to flooding.

I'm sure a lot of you are like me in the later stages of your life, and you may think, so what if the global warming is true, it won't affect me--but what about future generations?

I also bet a few of you are thinking climate change is a bunch of nonsense that scientists and liberals are trying to force down your throat, but before you turn your back, ask yourself, "Why am I fighting climate change prevention?" If you join the fight to stop global warming, at the very least you'll have a cleaner and healthier planet to live on. If climate change is true, by helping to stop it, your grandchildren will still have a planet to live on when they are your age.

There are lots of things we as individuals and especially as a country can do. You know what they are, so please do what you can to help, and if you need more ideas, Google it. There is a lot of helpful information available.

HOWDY FRISBY

North Little Rock

Stop senseless clashes

Violence begets violence. As Jesus said, "Those who live by the sword will die by the sword." We've just seen it happen, led by the president of the United States! After a violent, likely illegal assassination of a top official in another sovereign state, he's threatening to use more violence. This even after reprisals for the assassination were quite tempered. The president also sought to take credit for ending the confrontation he had just caused.

People everywhere yearn for an end to violence, for a stop to senseless wars and violent methods. The president, it appears, needs a refresher course in how to resolve serious conflicts peacefully. Searching for common ground is a good starting point, coupled with honest, truthful intent.

Take this as a citizen's challenge, Mr. Trump. It's hard work and there's no time to waste.

JOHN COFFIN

Little Rock

Editorial on 01/18/2020

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