Letters to the Editor (July 3)
Remember freedoms
As we celebrate this Fourth of July, we should not take our hard-earned freedoms for granted. Democracies and their institutions around the world are under assault from internal and external contingencies. The Constitution has been an example from which many of these democracies modeled their constitutions.
In order to assuage anti-Federalist opposition to the Constitution, the framers adopted the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment is paramount in protecting some of our basic freedoms. It has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to apply to the various states as well.
It reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Two hundred forty-one years later, in these unsettling times, hold those freedoms close and dear.
William Skaer, Wichita
Cyber safety
Cyber safety has become a hot topic in the era of social media. Yet I wonder how many parents know the details of their child’s cyber life. Access to social media is literally at every teen’s fingertips with the advent of smart phones, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Social networking has become an integral part of the social development of adolescents. In many ways social networking can be a healthy outlet for people to communicate, blow off steam, and receive emotional support. Nonetheless, social networking can also be emotionally debilitating when sensitive subjects are aired out with the online laundry.
Although some adolescents freely communicate to their parents who their cyber friends are and when they have become a victim of cyberbullying, the vast majority do not. As a pediatrician, I would encourage all parents to have an open dialog with their children about their cyber lives. Know who their virtual friends are and what they do online. Let them know what kind of communication is inappropriate and what they should do if they experience a cyber attack. Give your child a cyber seatbelt and ensure they know how to use it.
Gary King, Wichita
Kobach and national voter rolls
The headline in Friday’s paper chilled me to the bone. Kris Kobach wants every U.S. citizen’s personal information in a single database for a commission that the Trump administration started. This is not a commission voted for by representatives of the voters. This is a made-up commission with a made-up agenda.
You have to ask yourself this question. Why do these people believe there is voter fraud when their party won the presidency, the House and Senate, and most of the governorships?
I do not remember signing a voter registration saying the federal government or anyone in the federal government can take that information and use it in any way they want. This is very scary. No one has given the permission, so we have no say what becomes of this information in the future. How convenient for future hackers.
Write and call your representatives and tell them no.
Jonna Kelly, Mulvane
Letters to the Editor
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This story was originally published July 3, 2017 at 5:06 AM with the headline "Letters to the Editor (July 3)."