Letters: Readers discuss love for KC, tribute to the Hunt family and our common good

Joyful outlook

Dear Kansas Citians,

Without the rain there would be no rainbow.

I’m wishing every last one of you a joyous and safe holiday season and new year as much as possible in the current climate. Love y’all so much it physically hurts to see you in pain.

- Alexej Savreux, Kansas City

Jesus, prophet

As members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, my family and I don’t celebrate Christmas, but we do believe that Jesus (peace be on him) was a human being and beloved prophet of God.

Islam presents Jesus as a mortal human and a beloved prophet of God. Muslims believe that Jesus was born of a pious mother, Mary, whom the Quran refers to as Maryam. Though Jesus’ virgin birth is miraculous, it is not considered unnatural. Muslims do not believe the uncommon birth of Jesus made him a divine being. Muslims believe that God does not have any partner or children.

Jesus’ name is mentioned 25 times in the Holy Quran. In fact, his name is mentioned more than that of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. An entire chapter is even dedicated to Jesus’ mother, Maryam. Muslims believe that Jesus was a follower of Moses.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim community believes that Jesus died a natural death in India at the age of 120 years. He was buried in the tomb known as Prophet Yus Asaf, in Srinagar, Kashmir, where the locals venerate it as “The Honored Tomb.”

- Summer Rahim Ahmad, Columbia, Missouri

Honor the Hunts

In recent years, several professional sports franchises have come under fire because of names associated with Native American tribes or identities. Fans have lined up on both sides of the argument, and the reality is that changes are continuing to be made. This is likely to affect  the Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs are not only a football team, but a classy professional sports organization that has generally done things  the right way as members of the National Football League. Much of the credit for the success of this organization goes to founder Lamar Hunt and the Hunt family.

So, as the Chiefs contemplate a possible name change while in pursuit of repeating as NFL champions, perhaps they should consider paying tribute to their founder and his family with a name fitting their beginnings.

If the Chiefs decide to change their name, the Kansas City Huntsmen would be a wonderful honor to the Hunts. They clearly deserve to be celebrated by the city and its fans.

- Jeffery R. Dysart, Overland Park

Answers inside?

This letter is to the almost 160 million U.S. citizens who exercised the power of the ballot in 2020.

We are not members of tribes. We are Americans. We are members of diverse communities that include different races, ethnicities, faiths, socioeconomic backgrounds and political persuasions. Unfortunately, we have allowed our so-called “public servants” to demonize people who are different from ourselves.

We must stand up and vote against individuals who think dividing our nation is OK. The person who  wants to be our political servant must clearly state policies to achieve the common objectives we all want and seek: decent jobs, housing, food, utilities, access to health care, environmental protection and meaningful educational opportunities for our children. We cannot continue to be reduced to single-issue voters.

There’s a great amount of tension in our country. Tensions that existed before Nov. 3 have been amplified. As we celebrate or prepare to celebrate various faith-based holidays, perhaps we can each take a moment to look in the mirror and ask the person looking back, “What can you do to increase cooperation, civility and peace that will help us to reunify as a people and a nation?”

- James Tippin, Leawood

This story was originally published December 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss love for KC, tribute to the Hunt family and our common good."