Letters on Syria, religious ideology, fathers, Friends ballet, Jesus

Pursuing broader policy in Syria, Middle East

I appreciate the Defense Department’s calculated and calibrated approach toward resolving the Syrian conflict.

I listened carefully to the recent speech by Secretary of State John Kerry. He is right: The correct way to handle the situation in Syria is to adopt a much broader policy and take into account every factor affecting Syria and surrounding countries.

I have heard many experts on television proposing ground troops from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. As long as these countries are engaged fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen, it may not be possible for them to spare any troops.

This region also needs some geopolitical rearrangement. There is a one-in-a-century chance for the Kurds to have an independent country. All they have to do is make peace with Turkey, rather than trying what has not worked for them in the past 100 years.

The U.S. media also need to stop calling ISIS a “state” or “caliphate.” It is a group of thugs who have not been recognized by the United Nations or anyone else. How come we are calling them a state? A better name would be “Insurgents in Syria and Lebanon.”

Our political candidates have to pay by the second for their ads on TV. In comparison, these insurgents get hours of free coverage. I hope the folks who are wiser than I am would think about this.

Not that easy

A letter writer advised that flawed ideologies defeat themselves over time, and therefore “there is no need of war” (“Isolate ISIS,” Dec. 16 Letters to the Editor). Evidently, Nazism did not come to mind.

He did call attention to the failed ideology of communism and forecast the self-destruction of Islamic jihad, as their utopian dream would die within 50 years of being isolated. Why can’t it be so easy?

Indeed, proving Marxist theory impractical took nearly a century. Islamic jihad has endured for 15. Soviet communism failed because workers lacked incentives, consumers lacked consumption, and the “dictatorship of the proletariat” dictated far too much. Islamic jihad persists because its workers and consumers are dictated to from above.

To think that economic theory and religious theory share revelatory sources, criteria to evaluate failure, and rewards for discipleship is shortsighted. They are as different as horizontal and vertical.

Dry dishes with Dad

A Dec. 14 Eagle article about the increased frequency of making a dinner reservation for one brought to mind evening meals at my home as a child. Mother denied my brother and me any food until Dad was home. Then we all sat down to a delicious meal.

The most memorable time of day for us boys was when we assisted Dad in cleaning up and dried the dishes he washed. That was the only time of the day when my brother and I had his undivided attention. It was a period of pleasure and accelerated emotional maturation.

We read these days about the middle class disappearing, marriages that last becoming more rare, and many children failing to graduate from high school. There is a correlation between lasting marriages, success in school and the education level of both husband and wife.

My solution for the problem of these disappearances is: Dry dishes with Dad.

Friends ballet a treasure

My daughter and I recently enjoyed one of our most cherished Christmas traditions: “The Nutcracker” ballet at Friends University. As always, the production was both excellent and magical.

The sets, costumes, lighting and the production in general were, as always, perfect. And though the guest artists from New York City were predictably impressive, equally impressive to me were the Friends dancers, cast and crew.

The ballet program, under the directorship of Stan Rogers, is and always has been something of which Wichita should be proud. Friends is one of only a few universities in America to offer a bachelor of fine arts degree in ballet. That, plus the excellence of Rogers’ program, attracts serious and talented students. I’m always amazed at how well the Friends dancers hold their own with the professional guest artists who perform in various productions.

I see that Friends’ spring schedule will feature one of my favorite ballets, “The Firebird.” Although I drive to Kansas City every year to see its ballet company’s spring offering, I plan to attend the performance at Friends, also.

Anyone in Kansas who appreciates ballet should consider supporting this worthy program. I think you’ll be surprised at what we have right here at home. I know I was.

Jesus fulfilled prophecies

Have you ever stopped to consider that the One whose birthday we celebrate at Christmas actually fulfilled more than 350 prophecies about His coming and life? These prophecies were written hundreds of years before His birth. The odds of this happening are mind-boggling.

I would invite you to join me in doing what the shepherds did, when the heavenly host announced to them that the Savior of the world had been born. They went, they saw and returned to their flocks giving glory to God.

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Letters on Syria, religious ideology, fathers, Friends ballet, Jesus."