Letters: Readers discuss MLK’s teachings, the Super Bowl and obstructing Democrats
Dreams for all
Thanks for Sunday’s Martin Luther King Jr. special section, “Defending Democracy.” My daughter teaches third grade in Olathe, and she has her students write their own “I Have a Dream” speeches, asking them to address six different topics. She even brings in a dais and a microphone.
Here are some of her students’ dreams:
“I have a dream that we will always have enough to eat.”
“I have a dream that people wouldn’t be judged by the clothes we wear or by the reputation of the place people come from.”
“I have a dream that the government shutdown will end.” This student said her parents don’t work for the government, but her uncle does, and the family sends him money.
Many dream of world peace, the end of wars or people being nice to each other. These are third-graders.
Our leaders could take a lesson from these kids. Blessings to the children.
Dave McIntyre
Leawood
I won’t watch
As a New Orleans Saints season-ticket holder of many years, I urge fans of the Chiefs and all Kansas Citians to sit out this year’s so-called Super Bowl unless the NFL agrees to address its very serious issues.
A horrendous no-call by NFL officials deprived my beloved Saints of the right to represent the NFC in Atlanta. The rules were ignored to the detriment of the Saints. However, an argument could be made that by following the current rules, the NFL deprived the Chiefs as well.
Should the AFC championship be determined by the flip of a coin? Of course not.
Give both teams an even chance to show what they can do in overtime. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has not addressed the controversies in this year’s championship games. It’s business as usual in the NFL, and don’t ever forget that as much as we feel it emotionally, it is a business.
If we hit the NFL where it hurts and make this the least-watched Super Bowl ever, maybe sponsors would reconsider their decisions to spend so much money on commercials with a league that doesn’t play fair.
In New Orleans, we will throw non-Super Bowl parties. After all, it won’t really be the Super Bowl.
Mary W. Crother
Hammond, La.
Who fell down
In all the coverage of last weekend’s confrontation at the Lincoln Memorial involving Kentucky high school students, a hate group and a Native American senior citizen, I find one glaring omission: Where were the adult chaperones from Covington Catholic High School? (Jan. 22, 2A, “Videos spark dueling interpretations of DC encounter of 3 groups”)
As soon as the chaperones realized that members of a group that calls itself the Black Hebrew Israelites were hurling slurs at the students they were supposed to be supervising, the adults should have gathered their charges and moved away from those spewing hate.
That very well could have defused the confrontation, and the chaperones could have used the incident as a valuable teaching moment for their students.
Tom Hutcheson
Olathe
Bigger fish to fry
So, some folks in Kansas are whining about the hardships of adjusting their microwave or dashboard clocks twice a year? (Jan. 23, 1A, “Bill to end daylight saving time for Kansas sparks debate”)
Surely these people can’t be related to our pioneer ancestors who overcame real hardships such as sickness, drought, blizzards, grasshoppers and floods to make better lives for their families.
Please, Kansas: Let’s focus on the real problems of our state — education, health care, our foster care system — and save these silly discussions for a time when we have nothing else to do.
Anne Hooper
Overland Park
As time passes
While I’m disappointed in many things the current president has done, my support for securing the border with Mexico is strong and can be summed up in the following:
Democrats in 2019: “President Donald Trump, end the partial federal government shutdown and we can talk about border security.”
Democrats in 1986: “President Ronald Reagan, join us with your fellow Republicans in Congress to sign the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, which will grant amnesty to up to 2.7 million immigrants already in the country illegally, and we will increase funding for law enforcement to secure the southern border.”
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Ed O’Toole
Kansas City