Letters on city pools, doublespeak, KanCare, big-taxers, Brewer

Reverse bad decision to close city pools

Our city leaders must reconsider closing our public swimming pools (Feb. 22 Eagle). Instead of taking away these valuable assets, we should look for ways to enhance these pools, make them better and more interactive.

Small towns throughout Kansas have found that by improving their pools and adding more to the experience, attendance goes up and the revenue increases. Why can’t we follow their lead?

Renovated pools could be an attraction for the city, drawing visitors to Wichita and providing a great source of entertainment and physical activity. The children of Wichita need more types of physical activity in the summertime, not less.

Our city leaders need to think big and spend money on the children for a change. Let’s get them off the couch and learning how to swim.

Wichita can find the money for all the projects on the city leaders’ agenda. Reverse this bad decision and make this a priority.

Wrong priorities

So we have money to build a new baseball stadium but not enough to maintain city pools for thousands of Wichita’s children (Feb. 22 Eagle)? Let’s get our priorities in order.

How are kids going to learn to swim? Not in a wading fountain. This is a disservice to our children and grandchildren. Only a few can afford to go to a baseball game.

My summers were spent at the pool learning to swim and forming friendships with children in my town. It is an essential part of life to learn to swim. Please don’t deprive today’s youth of one of life’s most pleasant experiences.

Dialectical ambiguity

The foundation for any dialogue is laid by establishing basic grammar – trust in the sanctity of a shared understanding of elemental terms. Without this trust, relationships are vulnerable to collapse when one party senses that the other is using language ambiguously to persuade them of something that is against their expressed position.

This is why politics is referred to as “doublespeak” – and why all political parties and nearly all politicians embrace it as they call for loyalty (“trust me”) not logic.

Meanwhile, much of the public suffers from chronic uneasiness about how to take consistent stands on various subjects. But they sheepishly conceal their dialectical disability and react more or less blindly and confidently by following some party line. Never has this been more obvious or more dangerous than in the incoherent age of President Trump.

It is becoming clear that both major political parties are now manifestations of entrenched collectivism (which includes socialism and totalitarianism, communism and fascism, central banking and crony capitalism). And for those of us who cling to individualism as the foundation for democracy, this means we are now betrayed by those we once considered allies as well as repressed by an openly declared opposition.

It is time to replace diatribe with dialectic, loyalty with logic, confessed and closeted forms of collectivism with genuine made-in-America individualism.

Expand KanCare

I want to thank Rep. Roger Elliott, R-Wichita, my new representative, and the 80 others who voted to expand KanCare last week (Feb. 24 Eagle). I thank them on behalf of the 150,000 Kansans who fall into a health coverage gap and face few or no options for affordable health coverage.

Expanding KanCare is fiscally responsible and will bring hundreds of millions of our federal tax dollars back home to Kansas. In addition to improving the health of Kansans – even saving the lives of many – it will help create jobs and protect rural hospitals. More important, it sends a clear message to Gov. Sam Brownback that Kansans care more about human lives than about corporate profits and political ambition.

Thank you, Rep. Elliott, for listening to your constituents and voting to expand KanCare.

Stop big taxers

I thank Gov. Sam Brownback for once again protecting us wage earners from the liberal big taxers who would like to redistribute our dollars to the takers, and from the socialists who want to tax, tax, tax all of us until we are also dependent on other people’s money and them. I appreciate that Brownback continues to do what he was twice elected to do, and not caving in to the vocal minority who oppose us.

Now, if we can just get Wink Hartman elected governor in 2018 to not only carry on but make a few changes.

Hope Brewer wins

I am so excited Carl Brewer is running for governor (Feb. 21 Eagle). I worked on his campaign when he ran for Wichita mayor. He is so cool and smart. He always has a smile on his face and has a great sense of humor.

Brewer has a good heart and cares about people. He represents everybody, no matter your race, faith or who you love.

Brewer would be the people’s governor, supporting the working class. He would support our teachers and our schools and communities.

I hope he wins.

This story was originally published March 1, 2017 at 5:03 AM with the headline "Letters on city pools, doublespeak, KanCare, big-taxers, Brewer."