Letters on legalizing marijuana, moving elections, free two-year college, caring police officer, Ernie Banks

Marijuana change makes sense

If you are against government waste, you should be in favor of marijuana legalization. Millions of dollars are spent to prohibit this relatively harmless plant, and taxpayers receive nothing in return for this investment.

If you believe in medical freedom, you should be for medicinal marijuana – not because you necessarily believe it has medicinal value, but because you respect your neighbors’ right to use the treatment of their choosing.

If you value liberty, you should be against the state kicking down people’s doors and seizing their property because they smoked cannabis instead of tobacco, which inexplicably is legal despite killing millions.

If you drink alcohol, you should support ending marijuana prohibition, because your drug of choice is far more dangerous, and you are still permitted to enjoy it so long as you do so responsibly.

If you support job creation and revenue increases without tax hikes, you should support legalization, because the marijuana industry is booming in Colorado and its schools are reaping the benefits.

Move elections

Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, in his final State of the City address, warned the Legislature to keep its hands off local elections (Jan. 28 Eagle). The Legislature is considering moving elections for local municipalities to the fall, which would bring more voters into the election process.

It is very obvious that moving the elections, plus having all of the candidates’ partisan allegiances unmasked, is very unsettling to Brewer.

Everybody knows that much of what is voted on and decided at City Hall is anything but nonpartisan. Everything from the way that we view police to the way that we want our tax dollars spent is largely based on our political philosophy.

Provide schooling

When one receives a gratuitous kindness, it is common to pay it forward. Unfortunately, my generation (I am 81) has failed to do so.

We received a free high school education, which at that time (I graduated in 1951) was sufficient to prepare us for the working world.

We still provide 12 years of free high school, but a high school degree is no longer sufficient to prepare one for the working world. Today, young people need schooling beyond high school, but the older generation (my generation) has failed to provide it.

The young, knowing they need more than 12 years of schooling, have pursued it at their own cost. Thus by the time one is prepared to enter the workforce today, one is also significantly in debt.

My generation did not pay it forward, but President Obama has given us another chance. He proposes to provide two more years of free public schooling for everyone.

I hope that my generation, and a few of the succeeding generations, will join him in paying it forward.

Diehl a role model

I first met Wichita police officer Dwain Diehl when he came to my office and asked if we would donate warehouse space to a boxing club designed to keep neighborhood kids off the street and in school. I was impressed with how he cared about the kids. In the five years that the club has used our facilities, Diehl has continued to be a frequent visitor.

While I was in the hospital after having back surgery, Diehl visited me and even brought me a Christmas tree to brighten my day. He once told me about a project he was involved in through the Wichita Police Department that helped women get away from the dangers of prostitution and helped them find jobs.

I have always known him to be a good cop with a heart for those in need.

When my son lost his wife in a tragic farm accident, Diehl reached out and spent hours on his own time helping him. Diehl became his friend and mentor.

This is the real Diehl I know.

I feel that Diehl is a victim in the current frenzy to villainize and discredit the police (“Police supervisor arrested, accused of several domestic violence crimes,” Jan. 7 Local & State). He is a tremendous role model, and we should all be proud that he is part of the Police Department. I pray that justice will prevail and he will be fully exonerated.

Always be ‘Mr. Cub’

It’s been more than 50 years since I watched that baseball game on television, but I still remember the day “Mr. Cub” became one of my childhood heroes. It wasn’t so much his game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth that I remember, but his enduring smile and positive attitude during the postgame interview that made me a lifelong fan of Ernie Banks and the Chicago Cubs.

Banks was known for saying, “Let’s play two!” One sunny day, he delighted the fans when he walked out of the dugout, looked around and yelled, “Let’s play three!”

Banks played for the Kansas City Monarchs, then spent his entire major league career with the Cubs. Even though the Cubs haven’t won the World Series since 1908, Banks always had a smile on his face and a happy outlook (Jan. 25 Sports).

Ernie Banks will always be “Mr. Cub” to me, even though he now plays with the angels.

This story was originally published January 28, 2015 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Letters on legalizing marijuana, moving elections, free two-year college, caring police officer, Ernie Banks."