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Find better way to celebrate Fourth
July Fourth is upon us. I would ask that everyone take a moment to try to find out what the day is really about.
It’s not about fireworks from China or getting the day off or getting drunk. It’s the day that commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, thereby declaring freedom from Great Britain.
It would be a good idea for us to think of a better way to celebrate than to blow up fireworks made in China. The United States currently owes more than $1.2 trillion to China. By continuing to buy things like fireworks from the Chinese, we only tighten their chains of bondage around our own ankles. I would go so far as to say that it’s unpatriotic to empower our global competitors by buying the biggest pyrotechnic display we can from them.
Find another way to declare your patriotism to this country. Visit a veteran in a nursing home. Send one of our current soldiers a care package. It’s not that hard.
Almost anything is better than the usual alternative.
JEREMY WHEELER
Wichita
Blow to liberty
The U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Obamacare is devastating for American liberty and the Constitution. The court gave the government the power to regulate any behavior so long as the public is given the alternative of paying a tax instead of obedience. The court has allowed government the ability to create a special class to avoid both law and tax by granting waivers.
The court’s decision will stand for future laws even if Obamacare is repealed by Congress. Because you have the “choice” to do the behavior or pay the tax, the court says you have “liberty.” The problem we now have is the court placed no limit on the behaviors to be regulated or the amount of tax to be charged. The government’s ability to give waivers to select organizations to avoid the obedience or tax has nullified the Constitution’s premise that placed us all as equals under the law.
JAMES W. KILPATRICK Jr.
Wichita
Imposing doctrine
I was troubled that the article “Catholics plan rally on religious freedom” (June 28 Local & State) omitted the fact that other faith traditions firmly support birth control. I am a member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, which includes major Christian and Jewish denominations with millions of members. I believe the Catholic bishops are wrongly seeking to impose their doctrine against birth control on millions of Americans of all faiths and backgrounds who support and use contraception, including an estimated 98 percent of American Catholic women who use contraception.
It is wrong that the Catholic bishops are trying to force the Obama administration to back down on expanding contraception coverage. Almost all women use contraception at some point in their lives, and insurance should cover it. The Obama administration is in no way violating the freedom of Catholics to teach and preach against contraception.
Individuals of all faiths and backgrounds must stand up to the Catholic bishops and defend the rights of women to have insurance coverage for birth control.
DIANE WAHTO
Wichita
Not gateway
I disagreed with “Legalizing pot would harm lives” (June 28 Letters to the Editor). I was a teenager in the ’70s and experienced society’s abhorrence of the evils of marijuana. I did not, however, see or meet anyone whose teeth had fallen out due to its inhalation.
Funds would be better spent on those drugs whose detrimental medical and mental impact have been documented in abundance. All drug addicts need treatment, not lockup.
I, too, have lost a child due to drug addiction. My son’s drug of choice first came from the medicine cabinet of a friend’s parent, before he spiraled out of control.
The plethora of painkillers on the streets today is astounding. The cost in terms of money is phenomenal. The cost to families dealing with the grief of losing a child is immeasurable.
I also have experienced the loss of family due to alcohol addiction. This person had used marijuana in the past but, because of random drug testing, quit smoking and decided that alcohol was his drug of choice. This nice, mellow fellow became a person I scarcely recognized.
The “gateway” drugs are alcohol and cigarettes, not marijuana.
LIZ SMITH
Haven
Need clear rules
The immigration situation is missing some clear out-of-bounds rules. It looks like everyone needs to step back behind the line, establish the rules and restart the game. The reality is that it is not possible to do that.
Should the United States build accessible citizenship branches with reasonable time to become citizens? Is it unreasonable to want to give people a shot at becoming citizens? As long as they are trying to become citizens, there should not be any reason for trouble on either side. If anyone is banned from becoming a citizen, or does not want to become one, then he could face automatic deportation.
At least we would have some clear out-of-bounds rules.
CLIFF BAKER
Newton
