Letters on happy holidays, human trafficking, Electoral College, bicycle tourism

It’s still OK to say ‘happy holidays’

Another Christmas is here, a joyful time of year. It’s a time when we all try just a little harder to be nice, just a little harder to extend our hands to those less fortunate than many of us. We wish others “merry Christmas and happy new year,” or “happy holidays,” as we have done most of my 69 years on the planet.

But some conservatives beat us over the head should we dare wish someone “happy holidays.” Hungry for attention and relevance in today’s mean and nasty America, they choose to further divide us with a phony message.

I would like to point out to them a Bing Crosby film, “Holiday Inn,” and its songs by Irving Berlin. It is a happy movie in a more cohesive time, circa 1942 in World War II America.

“Happy holiday, happy holiday. While the merry bells keep ringing, may your every wish come true.”

I fail to understand what was acceptable in 1942 is not acceptable today. I fail to understand the anger of folks who take deep offense to anyone – some minimum wage clerk in a department store, perhaps – who says “happy holidays” rather than “merry Christmas.”

Christmas is and should be a happy time of year, but some blowhards on TV have managed to make an issue where there is not one and never has been one.

Happy holidays, everyone.

Stop trafficking

I am a graduate student of social work at Wichita State University. Recently, I researched the social problem of human trafficking and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 for one of my classes.

TVPA was passed in order to end modern slavery – both sex trafficking and labor trafficking. According to various non-profit and government reports, victims of modern slavery number in the millions worldwide.

Though the TVPA has brought public attention to the practice of sex trafficking, the practice of labor trafficking has not garnered as much attention. As a result, governments have not addressed the global market demands for cheap labor that contribute to the perpetuation of labor trafficking. Perhaps governments should consider not only prosecuting labor traffickers but also fining corporations and businesses that utilize labor trafficking for cheap labor.

Nation of states

Hillary Clinton’s margin of about 4.3 million votes in California is the story of not only where but also why she won the national popular vote by nearly 2.9 million voters. But then the Clinton camp always knew the insignificance of California and that she needed to sell herself, first and foremost, to majorities across all states. She did not do it, and the majorities of folks in states that did not vote for her are pleased and encouraged that California does not override them.

It is because ours is a nation comprised of states that we are called the United States. Is the Electoral College important to the states? Is the Electoral College essential to the nation in keeping its states united? You bet it is. One need only look at the map of the election’s result to see and appreciate how the nation might sever and crumble were it not for electoral voting.

Be grateful

Eight short years ago, Barack Obama was getting ready to inherit a Democratic majority in both the U.S. House and Senate, along with the worst economy since the Great Depression. Running on a platform of political change and the promise to work within a bipartisan platform, President Obama never got the chance to fulfill his legacy of change due to a group of Washington, D.C., insiders, far-right extremists, and growing hostility of the white middle class.

Today, President-elect Donald Trump is inheriting a Republican majority and a healthy economy. It is easy to see the historical and political similarities. Both considered outsiders, both distanced themselves from the Washington insiders. Trump is antithetical to Obama.

This is what we do. The United States has a political problem. We bicker and fight, blame and insult, accuse and conspire. We need to give ourselves a chance. We all need to learn how to compromise our own inner need to be right, self-righteous.

This holiday season, so many are left without. It seems a shame to spend time bickering about presidential politics and not being grateful that we have each other and the freedom to help those in need. What happened to gratitude? Why do we have so much hate?

Where is raise?

I am 80 years old. I received a notice from Social Security that, as of Jan. 1, I will receive a raise of three-tenths of 1 percent.

I looked at the amount I will receive, and it is the same amount I am currently receiving. Where is the raise?

Bicycle tourism

I think Wichita and southeast Kansas could do a better job of tourism. Northeast Kansas is starting to see the benefit of bicycle tourism and are starting to complete rail trails to tie into Missouri’s success with the Katy Trail, which has resulted in millions of dollars added to Missouri’s economy and the small towns all along the trail.

Wichita, Andover, Augusta, Leon, Beaumont, Piedmont, Severy, Fall River, Fredonia and Chanute are the towns that a rail trail could go through before reaching the Prairie Spirit trail, which is being completed to Kansas City. This not only would help the small towns but also Amtrak, as it would complete the loop to Wichita, Kansas City and St. Louis.

Missouri estimates that more than 1,000 people a day uses the Katy Trail and spend about $45 a day while using it. Stop in most of the towns along the way and you will find stores and bed and breakfasts that cater to bicycling.

I hope people are starting to see the benefits of bicycle tourism. Rail trails are being built in every state to cater to this tourism. It is a shame to watch the small towns in southeast Kansas die when they could benefit from a little help from the state. Maybe Wichita and Amtrak could take the lead to make this happen.

This story was originally published December 25, 2016 at 5:05 AM with the headline "Letters on happy holidays, human trafficking, Electoral College, bicycle tourism."