Speak Out 6/6/07

Flouting the law

TO SUGGEST that parents shouldn't "pick and choose" what laws to follow (May 31 editorial) stands in violation of the very rationale that America uses to separate itself from other countries. We are constantly calling ourselves "free," yet blind obedience to law makes us no different than the very countries we claim are not as civilized as we are. Laws are built on political agendas with an intention of gaining votes. Certainly some benefits emerge, but those are at best peripheral. Furthermore, personal damage and general witch hunting occurs whenever a new law is passed until it discovers its boundaries, so the benefits are further negated. Laws are neither sacred nor correct by virtue of being passed. All adults, especially parents as they are ushering in our future, should pick and choose obedience to laws. America, if it truly believes its enlightenment of freedom, should pick and choose far more cautiously than it does even now. To suggest that anyone outside of our physical border is oppressing us while allowing those within our borders to do the same makes every life spent in war a sad hypocrisy.

Guzzling gasoline

EVERYONE WHO is complaining about the high cost of gasoline has nobody to blame but themselves. I drive several hundred miles a day on the interstate for my job, and I drive the speed limit. Yet I am passed all day long by gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and minivans doing 80 to 85 mph. Is that 15 minutes you gained worth the extra money you just gave to the same oil companies you complain about? Until Americans get off their high horse and start doing something about it, they need to just keep their mouths shut.

Setting an example

FRIDAY I got on the interstate at Scott City heading north and observed a law enforcement vehicle in the passing lane closing rapidly. The vehicle passed me like I was sitting still. I got up to 85 mph, and the vehicle was leaving me. It exited at Exit 95 and headed east. I caught up with it at a stoplight. I know it was doing in excess of 60 mph in a 45 mph zone. I have always been told that law enforcement vehicles were required to obey the same rules of the road as any other motorist unless it was an emergency. The driver of this vehicle wasn't setting a good example.

Good VA experience

I AM a veteran rated at 60 percent disabled from my tour of duty. When I was discharged, I filed for my disability through the VA. It was a 10-month process. When my disability was approved, I got back pay from the day that I filed. The VA is doing its best with the funding it has. I have not experienced anything different with the VA than with doctors in Cape Girardeau. I try to go to the VA as much as I can, even if it means driving to Poplar Bluff or St. Louis, because I know the doctors are there to get you well. At the VA I have never waited for more than 10 or 15 minutes to get into a room. I have my VA representatives through the Missouri Veterans Commission, and they are helpful. I wish the media would try to publish good things for a change. Everyone has a complaint about some place of business, but for the most part places like the VA are not nearly so bad as you make them out to be.

Failed session

THANK YOU for publishing the piece by Amy Blouin on the just completed, failed session of the Missouri Legislature and imploring legislators to do what they are sadly incapable of doing because of short-term political interests: establishing a farsighted budget policy. As a result, Missourians will remain (as compared to other states) dumb and sick. However, on the positive side, I have long felt that the less quality public education a person has, the happier he is.

Getting organized

I AM so excited about the Missouri Supreme Court decision ratifying the right of Missouri public employees to engage in collective bargaining I could scream. I'm going to dust off my old "Rules for Radicals" book by Saul Alinisky in the 1960s and get going. The book basically outlines steps for organizing/unionizing the heretofore oppressed. I'll contact a couple of movers and shakers sympathetic to my cause, and we'll have Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area organized in no time flat. Power to the people!

History major

THAT WAS a nice article about the late veteran, Robert Woodward. In the article Woodward discussed saving Southeast Missouri State University's American history department from being in shambles or near extinction. I never knew that and am grateful for his efforts in that area. Apparently, had he not successfully lobbied to salvage the department I may have had to go elsewhere to get a degree with a major in American history.

Not a free pass

THE COLUMN "God's answer" hit the nail squarely on the head. If the gap between the rich and poor caused shootings and bad behavior, there should have been examples of this type of lawlessness in epic proportions during the Great Depression. But there wasn't because people knew God and made the right choice and lived morally whether they were rich or poor. Being poor doesn't give you a free pass on immoral behavior.

Tales of folklore

THE MAN who allegedly faked his drowning reminds me of a guy who did the same thing in Sikeston decades ago. He supposedly drowned in what was called Wolf Hole Ditch. Days later, he showed up in town. A newspaper photograph pictured authorities and many others at the site where the alleged drowning took place. After the guy came back, a close re-examination of the newspaper photo revealed in the distant background the guy who successfully pulled off the stunt. This tale is just a part of the folklore of Sikeston and is one of the thousands of reasons why it is such an interesting and unique place to live, where one never knows what may happen next. This incident made the fellow a folk hero in some quarters. When he years later entered a midnight showing of a horror movie classic, he received a standing ovation.