Opinion

Posted on Tue, Nov. 10, 2009

e-mail	print	RSS	reprint
AIM	Digg it	del.icio.us	Facebook

Letters to the editor on tea party, blaming Muslims, parade crowd

Payroll taxes are taken by force

Regarding "Selfish protesters" (Nov. 8 Letters to the Editor): I am fed up with the view that I shouldn't protest about government intrusion in my life because I'm a senior citizen getting Social Security and Medicare benefits. That "government" money we are receiving was taken from us by force.

Don't believe me? Try to get your employer to quit taking this money from your paycheck and give it to you. You won't get very far.

Our government does not have one single penny. It has only the money it takes from you and me. The only way this is ever going to stop is to quit pointing fingers at seniors and point them instead toward Washington, D.C., and join us in our struggle.

Do I want my money back? You bet your sweet bippy I do.

LARRY KIRCHMER

Wichita

'Tea party' hijacked

I attended the "tea party" in Wichita last week, unlike many of the event's critics writing in this space, and I hope that my own observations take precedence.

What began as a righteous libertarian reaction to the crimes of the Bush regime and its predecessors (war and imperialism, taxation, economic manipulation by the Federal Reserve, etc.) has been hijacked by conservative nationalists, who were apparently content with the ravages of the state while a Republican president was at the helm.

This and similar events around the country were vigorously promoted and supported by conservative media outlets and advocacy groups, a fact one might have divined merely by viewing most of the crowd or listening to the speakers on stage last Wednesday.

Yet the movement is not too far gone. If they wish to be taken seriously, conservatives must repudiate the reign of George W. Bush and recognize that his policies were not dissimilar to those of the current president. In short, they must become libertarians. Barring such an occurrence, the tea parties will never be a potent force for freedom.

ERIC MANDA

Wichita

Mad world

My heart goes out for the victims of the Fort Hood shooting, and for the victims of wars everywhere. Blaming Islam and Muslims for the crimes committed by a Muslim is like blaming Christianity and Christians for the crimes committed by a Christian — it only distorts the facts.

Since Cain murdered Abel, humans became more creative in murdering one another and less creative in preventing murder. We live in a mad world where human lives are bought and sold for the cheapest of price. Violence begets violence, but peace begets peace. Love your neighbor and treat others as you would like to be treated are the slogans that should crown our lives.

The violence we see today is a clear indication of a major failure in communication among world leaders and an absence of real peace institutions. There is a colossal error in judgment in the ways humans tend to resolve their conflicts with one another.

MAHER MUSLEH

Wichita

Where was crowd?

Shame on Wichita and Kansas. Saturday was the Veterans Day parade. There were probably more people in the parade than at the parade. And where were all the high school bands? For a community with an Air Force base, this was very disturbing and very unfortunate.

RANDAL MATHES

Wichita