Letters on Confederate flag, independent courts, gun control, common good, not ‘conservative,’ fireworks

Take down this symbol of hatred

I was born and lived in the Deep South until my parents moved us to Kansas when I was 11. One great-grandfather was a member of the famed Tennessee Volunteers and fought at the Battle of Pea Ridge; another was from Alabama and fought there in the “War of Northern Aggression.” I worked in the Deep South continuously from 1997 through 2007.

For my entire life, and especially in the past 20 years, the Confederate flag has stood as a symbol of racial hatred and bigotry. I am tired of the excuses of “heritage,” “respect for those who fought for states’ rights” (the right to own another human being), “history,” blah, blah, blah.

I am appalled to learn that this hateful symbol is flying in Wichita’s Veterans Memorial Park. Please, in the name of decency, take that hateful flag down now and pack it away out of sight.

I am a history major, and certainly have the background to be a “daughter of the old South,” but I have seen and heard what the Confederate flag stood and stands for in this day and age.

This issue does not deserve debate or discussion. Rather, it simply requires the Wichita City Council to ignore the excuses and have the moral courage to do the right thing and take down this symbol of hatred.

Keep flag

I was dismayed to read The Eagle editorial calling for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from Wichita’s Veterans Memorial Park (June 25 Opinion). It entirely ignored what former Eagle staff member Mark McCormick was quoted as saying in the previous day’s newspaper: “If they take it down, the everyday lives of African-Americans will be exactly the same. Our problems are much more complex than the symbolism of a flag…. So, OK, if they take that flag down, what did we win? It is a hollow victory because we are focusing on a symptom rather than the actual disease.”

The editorial noted the placement of the flag in the late 1970s, which occurred only after being countenanced by veterans, politicians, academics and other citizens. But their reflective, consensual approach fared no better than McCormick’s.

We gain nothing when distasteful parts of our history are swept under the rug, for when they are out of sight they are out of mind and can only rot and fester. It is through civil discourse and the reflective exchange of ideas that we must place our hopes of growing together as a people.

More than 600,000 Americans died determining the outcome of that war, 3 percent of our population then, and as a result the Confederate battle flag is not our national flag. What better way to illustrate that fact and the progress we have made than to have it wave with the used-to-be and might-have-beens in our Veterans Memorial Park?

Remove flag

Years ago I bought a brick in honor of my mother, Margery Ruth Davis, who served in the WAVES during World War II. I find it offensive that there is a Confederate battle flag flying at this memorial park. It makes as much sense as flying a swastika flag to honor those who fought against the United States.

Please, whoever reads this, help in having the flag removed immediately.

Independent court

Some GOP candidates are loudly criticizing the “unelected” justices who have made some rulings they disagree with. They seem to suggest that it would be better if U.S. Supreme Court justices were elected. They are not thinking this idea all the way through.

Our Founding Fathers wisely decided justices would be appointed for life only after being confirmed by the elected members of the Senate. They are very deliberately meant to be independent legal minds who are above politics. Some politicians must need a refresher course on the function of the three branches of government.

What would the critics prefer? A national election each time a vacancy comes up on the court? Just imagine that.

Crime control

I read “End love affair” (June 21 Letters to the Editor) with much disappointment. The writer bemoaned the murders that occurred in the church in Charles-ton, S.C. I understand and share his horror at this terrible crime. But rather than blame the murderer, the writer decided that the problem was the gun that the man used, and argued for more laws restricting the rights of everyone who was not involved.

What the letter writer really wants is legislation to end insanity. Sadly, this is part of the human condition and likely always will be. Machinations from pulpits and statehouses will not change the human condition.

Society is not to blame. Only the perpetrator is responsible. Advocating for taking away the rights of good people is telling those people that their rights and freedoms are not based upon their own conduct, but upon the expected behavior of the lawless.

If we want to enhance safety, it is never achieved by making good people conform to the expected behavior of the lawless. Safety is achieved by forcing the criminals to conform to the expected behavior of the law-abiding.

Common good

The analysis by Rep. Mark Hutton, R-Wichita, of the latest legislative session debacle was excellent in its nuts-and-bolts explanation (“Fear of postcards undermined budget solution,” June 18 Opinion). However, a discussion of character and service to the common good of Kansas must be considered as well.

In 1783, as the Revolutionary War was ending, George Washington wrote the Continental Army a letter advising it of the requirements for America’s flourishing future: “The prevalence of that pacific and friendly Disposition, among the People of the United States, which will induce them to forget their local prejudices and policies, to make those mutual concessions which are requisite to the general prosperity, and in some instances, to sacrifice their individual advantages to the interest of the Community. These are the pillars on which the glorious Fabrick of our Independency and National Character must be supported.”

The Legislature need an intense brushup course in Civics 101.

Not ‘conservative’

As a young adult during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, I considered myself a “conservative.” Then, that word meant adhering to traditional values in both politics and religion, caring for others, and voting for those who work in the interest of the nation and all its citizens, but always keeping the separation of church and state.

Today’s “conservatives” are mainly not at all the same, too often being fearful, racist, violent (guns), ignorant of real news and incapable of dialogue. The word no longer has any meaning. No civilized nation can long continue this way.

Fireworks week

June 26 through July 5 should be dubbed “National Fireworks Week,” because it surely is not a celebration of America’s independence. July 4 is Independence Day, and that should be the only day that fireworks are allowed to be fired.

I’m sure most aren’t thinking during this week about what gives them the freedom to live in America and to be able to do what they want. There is no respect this week for the war veterans who have tried to sleep night after night, in a tent or foxhole, listening to bombing and shelling. They have to return home to America and hear it in their own neighborhoods for a week, and from those who do not know that 10 p.m. is time to quit.

It’s a week centered on retail sales, making noise until all hours, distributing litter everywhere, burning up fields and houses, not to mention personal injury, with no consideration for those who wish not to participate except in the true Fourth of July celebrations, honoring our independence. Bring back Independence “Day.”

This story was originally published June 27, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Letters on Confederate flag, independent courts, gun control, common good, not ‘conservative,’ fireworks."