Letters on pope, Wichita’s downward trend, stupid speech, VA care

Pope is a world religious leader

The pope’s call to the leaders of the world to do more for the poor is a lesson right out of our prophet Isaiah. Tolerating hunger, poverty and homelessness is a disgrace to humanity.

No one since Mother Teresa had reminded us of this obligation to such a great degree until Pope Francis came along. He is also very wise to remind us that we share this planet that God gave us. His emphasis on all these universal issues that affect all of humanity – rather than very narrow religious issues like divorce and homosexuality – makes him, in a real sense, a world religious leader.

He is a religious leader who speaks to the conscience of the world with authority and even motivates the West to address profound issues facing the world. He is a pope of the Catholic Church, but through his humility, his wisdom and his genuine concern for human beings – Catholic or not – he has become a religious figure of consequence to many who are not Catholic.

The pope’s call to take care of the Earth is classic Judeo-Christian philosophy. The Talmud says that God reminded mankind that he needs to be careful with the world, because whatever he destroys will be gone forever, as God is not going to re-create it. We are the Earth’s stewards, and reminding us of that is a great moral lesson from the pope.

We are all blessed to have such a spiritual man leading humanity.

Downward trend

Thank you, Wichita Community Foundation, for hiring a professional analyst, who resided in Wichita for some years, to study Wichita (Sept. 23 Eagle). It was meaningful to have his research reaffirm what many of us living in Wichita and in Kansas have been observing.

Our Wichita median household income currently is lower than the national average. Could that be why we read of many more schoolchildren now eligible for free and reduced-price lunches? We have been observing folks with higher incomes moving out of state. And not only are fewer families moving in, those coming seemingly have less income.

Our many neighboring states seem to be growing and developing more than Wichita and Kansas. People who in the past may have moved here in search of growing opportunities now read that Wichita does not even rank in the top 160 U.S. cities for capturing venture capital. Or they read about the state’s credit rating being downgraded.

However, the analyst, James Chung, plans to work with Wichita to provide hope that we don’t continue our downward trend in Wichita and Kansas.

It feels hopeful that, even with Wichita’s numerous serious challenges, there still is a way to climb up and achieve success, with the leadership of Chung and the Community Foundation.

Stupid speech

Every time a politician or other public figure says something stupid and/or racist, their defenders complain bitterly about the demise of the First Amendment. It would seem to be time for a review of what the First Amendment actually says about free speech: “Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.”

Nowhere in our Constitution does it guarantee that there will be no social or economic consequences for what a citizen says; it merely promises that the government will not take action against citizens for their speech. This amendment is meant to allow us to speak out against government without fear of retaliation. It’s not meant as carte blanche to be an idiot in public without being held responsible.

It’s high time American citizens on both sides of the aisle start behaving like adults and accept that words and deeds have consequences.

Amazing caregivers

My father passed away Sept. 1 after a long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s. He was a decorated soldier from the Korean War and loved the Robert J. Dole Veterans Affairs Medical Center. With all the bad press the Department of Veterans Affairs has received recently, I want to tell you about our experience .

Even though my dad always carried health insurance, he chose to go to the VA hospital for his medical needs. During those years he never had a single complaint about any of its services.

Later in life, as his Alzheimer’s progressed and his condition worsened, my mom continued to take him to the VA. During the last couple years of his life when it was next to impossible for him to get to his appointments, the VA provided a home-based program that included checkups by nurses, a nutritionist, social workers and therapists.

Additionally, the VA provided a special bed, portable potty, shower chair, walker, wheelchair, right down to handrails in the bathroom. When his personal care became too taxing for my mother, the VA provided home health care.

When the time came and my mother could no longer care for Dad at home, the VA suggested its hospice program. It has a wonderful unit filled with the most amazing people my family has ever encountered. It still brings me to tears every time I think about the wonderful treatment my father received from these amazing caregivers.

I cannot say enough good things about the VA hospital and all the staff. They deserve to be commended for their kind and compassionate care.

This story was originally published September 28, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Letters on pope, Wichita’s downward trend, stupid speech, VA care."