Stand up!
I think I share this question with every American citizen right now: When?
When is somebody going to do something? When are the republicans on Capitol Hill going to stand up like adults and confront this juvenile bullying of the most vulnerable populations of the United States? How much more indignity will we suffer as members of the world community? What must the people of Germany be thinking?
There is no disgrace in mental illness — and to ignore it in places of authority is perilous to the people at stake, and it is simply enabling neurotic, destructive behavior and, therefore, not fair to the person possessing it. It is obvious that our worst fears have begun to be realized in this presidential election and current administration.
The elected officials have to intervene! Why has no one done this? Fear; fear of retribution — in the form of a tweet.
There it is. We are being held captive by a Tweety bird! Will some courageous souls please stand up and come to the aid of our great nation? Won’t someone stand up for the most vulnerable?
Janine Taylor Bryant Oklahoma City
Keep them separated
The article about U.S. Sen. James Lankford unveiling his Free Speech Fairness Act written by Laura Eastes (News, Say what?, March 1, Oklahoma Gazette) deserves more attention, as it is excellent. It gives great insight to the reasoning behind the Johnson Amendment and why we need a separation of church and state. In the past, we have allowed these two major powers to coerce, and it has proved to be unsuccessful.
I agree with a lot of what Mitch Randall had to say on the matter. Churches have the right be political if they want; they simply have to start paying taxes. If they were to begin influencing political campaigns by essentially advertising to their followers, then they could grow as powerful as the Roman Catholic Church did in the 15th-18th centuries. Our past is a great source to learn from as to what we should and should not repeat. If the individuals who work for those organizations want to support a political candidate, they are free to do so in their own time. They have their freedom of speech.
How can an organization that has over a certain number of people represent every person equally with their political views? I do not believe it can. If I feel, as an individual, that I cannot bring up politics in my family gatherings or work events because someone might get overzealous, then I do not see it being possible for an organization to represent the group equally as a whole.
Kimberlee Rohrer Oklahoma City
Emulate success
Regarding the OKC streetcar passenger and traffic issues: Suggest the steering committee research the methods used in Germany. That system, which has been in operation for over 70 years, is passenger, traffic and environmentally friendly.
Passengers can use the same ticket for both bus and streetcar. The traffic signs indicate at each intersection which one has the right of way, and both bus and streetcar allows passengers to transport their bicycles, thus reducing automobile traffic in the downtown area. Oklahoma City needs to emulate public transportation systems that have proven successful.
Michael Manning Yukon
Opinions expressed on the commentary page, in letters to the editor and elsewhere in this newspaper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ownership or management.
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to [email protected] or sent online at okgazette.com. Include a city of residence and contact number for verification.
