Letters: Readers discuss John Prine’s mastery, Sharice Davids’ help and crafty liars
Backward again?
Good old Kansas, with the nicest people ever. And in the state known worldwide for denying evolution, for once we did not look like a bunch of hicks on the world stage. I was so proud that we were on the leading edge in safeguarding residents early in a pandemic.
We should notice that the same party that led us in one of the worst state tax plans in history wants to deny reality again. (April 9, 1A, “Kansas lawmakers revoke limit on church gatherings”) And it is willing to risk our lives doing it.
- Richard Whitehouse, Olathe
Lessons discarded
My parents survived the Great Depression and World War II. Their greatest generation focused on the future for their children. Today I wonder: Why don’t we care for future generations?
My parents’ generation supported affordable higher education. When Sputnik awoke us to the need for scientific advancement, scientific literacy was upgraded in our schools.
Now we face the existential crisis of climate change, with the melting of polar ice, wildfires in the Amazon and Alaska, droughts and 500-year floods occurring frequently. The science is clear, but elected officials deny reality and science.
Polio was the fear of my youth until the Salk vaccine. Today, some refuse to vaccinate children. When a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, will they refuse?
Internationally, we were the dominant economic and military superpower. America brought nations together militarily through NATO and economically through the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Consistent foreign policy avoided World War III and another depression.
Today, our president has taken us from true world leadership to bilateralism. In our current pandemic, we see both a devolution of responsibility to states and a lack of American leadership.
We need to revive the spirit of the greatest generation for our children’s sake.
- Bond R. Faulwell, Overland Park
Simple, profound
Thank you for publishing Joel Pett’s editorial cartoon about John Prine on Thursday. (11A) The world has lost one of the greatest songwriters of all time with Prine’s passing from COVID-19.
As the tributes pour out from his peers and fans, the simplicity of Pett’s drawing reminds me how Prine could write a whole novel in just one line.
- Toby Proctor, Gladstone
Satan’s company
My father, the military and science developed my opinions about lies and lying.
Dad called shading the truth “guardhouse lawyering.” He was intolerant of it and would beat us for it. (He was not enlightened about corporal punishment.)
The military academy I attended said I would be expelled immediately if it learned I lied about anything.
Science, my discipline, is based on objective data collection. Any falsification resulted in perpetual loss of credibility in the community. One does not do it.
When someone lies to me once, I figure he has few scruples and a disrespect of me. He is treating me as an ignoramus. I avoid him like the plague. When someone lies continually, I think he must be a sociopath or psychopath, either without scruples or out of touch with reality.
About lies, I distinguish between shading the truth and creating falsehoods from scratch. The latter is more serious.
The Bible seems to agree, stating in John 8:44: “The devil was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. ... He is the father of lies.”
- Chris Roesel, Roeland Park
Davids’ help
I have been a Democrat in Kansas for all my 72 years, and I have never once gotten a response from any elected official about any concern I have had.
My current issue is about my adult, developmentally challenged son, who must be driven to a sheltered workshop three days a week. The fee for this transportation is horrendously high, especially when you consider he and his colleagues are paid by the piece for the work they do. They are all hardworking kids who love working there and do their very best.
Recently, I contacted Rep. Sharice Davids’ office about our problem. Much to my surprise, I got a return phone call with alternative options to get my son to work at a reduced cost.
This issue has been ongoing for years, but nobody ever got back in touch with me. When I got that phone call, I felt a surge of gratitude that at least somebody is listening.
I will support her always because she is at least paying attention to her constituents and trying to help. Thank you so much, Congresswoman Davids.
- Jan Alverson, Overland Park