Letters on Israel’s threatening words, GOP letter to Iran, lost freedoms, privatizing K-12, OU racism

Threatening words not mere rhetoric

As quoted June 15, 1969, then-Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said: “There were no such thing as Palestinians.... They did not exist.”

This month the current prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke to the U.S. Congress. His speech was a flagrant, derisive and insulting interference in United States foreign policy.

On March 8 Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said: “Anyone’s who’s against us (Israel), there’s nothing to do – we should raise an ax and cut off his head.” Some of us who often oppose Israeli policies, such as the occupation of the West Bank and the siege of Gaza, could shudder in fear and righteous anger over what we could see as a personal threat.

But I am much more concerned for the Palestinian citizens of the occupied territories and, especially, the 1.5 million Palestinians who are nominal citizens of Israel, citizens with a vote, all of whom face a frightening escalation of legal and social discrimination. It is a continuation of the ethnic cleansing, the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic) of 1948, with the goal of starving the Palestinians in Gaza to death and annexing all of Palestine.

And the words we hear from the Israeli leadership are not mere rhetoric. Just ask the survivors of the seven-week slaughter last summer of the Palestinians of Gaza. It is hard to negotiate for peace with an ax coming down on your neck.

New low for GOP

The letter that the GOP senators sent to Iran was the low point for Republicans. They essentially punched the president in the face.

The lawmakers have no business speaking for the United States. I agree with those who called them “traitors.” That includes our two senators. They must really hate President Obama to send a letter to another nation that says it cannot trust our president.

I wonder if they realize that if we do not get a deal and Iran gets the bomb, we may go to war. If we do, I hope they will be drafted first and put on the front line, where they belong. If they want a war with Iran, they should be willing to be the first ones to go.

Closer to freedom?

I don’t see why liberals push for government support. The more government support we have, the less free we are.

America is not free. We have regulations and limits on the constitutional amendments that make us free.

When voting for laws, ask yourself: How does this get us closer to freedom? About 90 percent of the time, it doesn’t.

The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, but if I offend someone with what I say, he may sue me. The Second Amendment is the right to keep and bear arms, but I need a permit to conceal-carry one. And if I use it for self-defense, I can still go to jail for using my weapon. How is this freedom?

Aim to privatize K-12

A letter writer was concerned that the war on education by the rabid rightists is aimed at dumbing down the electorate to keep it at bay (“Why the attacks?” March 10 Letters to the Editor). Though this is likely an outcome favored by the anti-critical thinking party, one should not lose track of the fact that the education money is a very tempting revenue stream to the “privatization” folks who would love to divert it and provide the corporate profiteers an opportunity that would otherwise not exist.

It has worked so well at the for-profit college and university level that this crowd wants it extended to K-12.

Bad for Kansas

If teachers should be prevented from running for school boards in other districts, then it’s a no-brainer that legislators should be prevented from running for the Legislature. Talk about inappropriate influence and things that are bad for Kansas.

More to this problem

Watching the news out of the University of Oklahoma has led me to consider the problem nationwide. I am horrified by the behavior of the fraternity members, and I find the actions of the OU administration to be warranted and support it fully. But there is much more to this problem.

Young black Americans need to show respect for themselves and stop using the N-word to describe themselves. When you call yourself derogatory names, it implies that you accept those names and shouldn’t be offended when others use the same terminology.

Black Americans should be proud of their achievements. They built a great part of this country on their own backs. From the oldest national monuments to the early economy of the South, and the brave men and women who fought for rights and education, they earned their place in American history. But as long as they only remember the bad, the good won’t be seen.

This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Letters on Israel’s threatening words, GOP letter to Iran, lost freedoms, privatizing K-12, OU racism."