OpinionApril 8, 2009
Speak Out 4/8/09
No crying infants; Unwanted pets; Baseball parking; More education; Welfare rules; Greedy for eggs; Protest outcome; It's the money; Save our planet; Tossing trash
No crying infants
I am a mother and a Christian. I agree that children need to be in church. However, when the children, especially infants and toddlers, are so noisy that everyone trying to listen to the sermon can't even hear themselves think, those children need to be taken to the nursery or cry rooms, which have speakers so that those tending the children can still hear the sermon.
Unwanted pets
HOW sad that someone from St. Louis has just learned how irresponsible some people in Southeast Missouri are by discarding unwanted pets like so much garbage and dumping them on people who are forced to face the harsh realities. Do you believe a dog accustomed to living in town can herd cattle? No, they get shot because they chase cattle. Cats are disposed of with even less humanity. Both are subject to being hit by cars. There are many facilities that can offer unwanted pets the possibility of a home. At the very least the shelters can offer them a painless end with dignity if no home can be found. Please, do not judge us all by the ignorance of a few.
Baseball parking
I guess it was a slow crime day Sunday in Cape Girardeau. During the Southeast Missouri State University baseball game, the police gave parking tickets to people parking in the grass down the first base line. There are not any signs anywhere that say no parking. People have been parking here for years during games, and it has never been a problem.
More education
I strongly believe Cape Girardeau needs a community college to supplement the educational opportunities already available. In large part, my belief is based on G.K. Chesterson's observation that "Without education, we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously."
Welfare rules
CHRISTINA Freeland of the Financial Times said that when corporations go on welfare (taxpayer money), they should have to abide by the same strict rules poor people on welfare do. Are you listening, state Sen. Jason Crowell?
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Greedy for eggs
I don't know how many parents I saw at the Capaha Park Easter egg hunt picking up eggs for their children and filling their baskets to the top. I saw children with 20 or 30 eggs in their huge baskets while mine and countless others left with nothing. These parents were teaching their children to be greedy and selfish. Let them do the hunting the way it was supposed to be.
Protest outcome
I can think of but one historical analogy to describe the upcoming tea party protest. Queen Marie Antoinette (wife of Louis XVI) of France had a "cottage" built near the palace at Versailles so she could play at being a shepherdess. To me, the upcoming protest will allow area plutocrats to play at being protesters. The only thing is, I hope their ultimate demise is not similar to Queen Marie Antoinette's. There's nothing funny about the guillotine.
It's the money
POOR Mark Sanford, Republican governor of South Carolina. He at first refused any and all stimulus money as a matter of principle. This boosted his standing among rigid national Republican ideologues who praised him for standing on principle. Unfortunately, he was swamped with criticism from South Carolinians and recently pulled a switcheroo, accepting the money. Evidently, Sanford did not realize the absolute truth of the maxim that when people say it's the principle of the thing and not the money, it's the money.
Save our planet
I have yet to meet anyone diagnosed with cancer who would say they cannot afford treatment and would put it off to next year when they might be dead. Yet fully a third of respondents to your poll on environmental issues seem to think it makes sense to put off dealing with environmental issues until the economy improves. Unfortunately, what we are currently doing to the planet is probably leading it to become unable, within the century, to support life as we know it. Will future generations thank us for destroying their life-support system while we make a few more bucks? I think not. Ignorance about climate change is OK -- maybe -- but it's hardly reasonable any longer. Willful ignorance is not acceptable. And the kind of militant ignorance demonstrated by conservatives who refuse to acknowledge the evidence regarding climate change is unacceptable. We are destroying the planet we call home. What kind of a legacy will this be if we do not address it? Get involved. Do something about it.
Tossing trash
I see motorists throwing litter out of their cars. Don't they realize others are watching? Don't they care?
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