Unfettered Letters

Lessons from father

As we watch our privileged elected officials irresponsibly spend our dollars and continue to jeopardize our financial future as well as that of our children, some basic economic principles come to mind as shared with me by my father.

When I was a youngster, he taught me the importance of developing a respectable work ethic, coupled with disciplined savings. Along that idea, he shared the dangers associated with the temptation of credit cards and the immoral intent of credit-providing organizations.

My father also stressed the importance of purchasing American-made products exclusively, reflecting the value and importance of maintaining our manufacturing jobs, which are our economic foundation.

And without fail, the collection plate was always one envelope heavier when it passed our family.

Thanks Dad, for serving our blessed country, flying our flag, and leading by example with faith and integrity.

Christopher Scarcello
Kearney

Black Friday exposes dark side of humanity

Black Friday truly seems like a black day to me this year.

Who needs to bring loaded weapons to a Toys “R” Us? (11/30, A-2. “Toy store shooting followed fight”) And the gangsters open fire and kill each other? I understand that they weren’t raised to respect their own lives, but what about those innocent children at the toy store?

A bargain at Wal-Mart is so great that it’s worth trampling a store employee to get? (11/29, A-5, “Wal-Mart worker killed in stampede”) And the shoppers were outraged that they were being asked to leave before making their purchases “only” because a store employee was killed in the stampede? Do we just blame it on not having enough coffee because it’s so early in the morning?

If the thrill of saving a few dollars on luxuries we probably can’t afford or don’t need is greater than the value of human life, we need to reconsider our priorities. Is our society as a whole missing the true spirit of the holidays? Is our greed taking control? Is it a bargain if we lose all of our own goodness? Can Congress provide a bailout for our lack of good judgment and morality?

Valerie Simpson
Overland Park

“I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have false gods before me.”

The shootout at Toys “R” Us in California, the trampling death at Wal-Mart in New York and myriad other examples of greed and gluttony on Black Friday from coast to coast leave no doubt that our society worships the false god of the almighty dollar.

God have mercy on us.

Kim Wetzel-Williams
Kansas City, Kan.

What has happened to us?

A tragic Black Friday

Enough already!

Before reading the news of the trampling death of an employee at a New York Wal-Mart in a rush of greed-crazed shoppers (11/29, A-5, “Wal-Mart worker killed in stampede”), I had scanned the ads and had reached the above stated conclusion.

The stores open earlier every year, with at least one major retailer being open all night and others handing out “tickets” or “vouchers” granting the sleep-deprived the right to purchase items advertised as “door-busters” or “door-crashers”. Apparently, as the crumpled door at Wal-Mart would attest, it is a literal term, not just an advertising device.

Everyone shares responsibility in this tragedy: stores so eager to rake in revenue; consumers willing to push, shove, and even walk on a store employee; a society so greed-driven as to engage in such behavior.

It is unconscionable for retailers to put out ads with offers on an item for which there is a huge market and an incredibly short supply. It would be much more reasonable for good buys to be offered in sufficient quantity over the course of several days than for these loss-leader sales that generate such mayhem to contribute to tragedy such as that in Valley Stream, N.Y.

Paul Reed
Oskaloosa, Kan.

With tears streaming down my face, I wonder if we realize what this great nation has become — and if the tragedy of the Wal-Mart employee trampled to death by shoppers on Black Friday will cause us to wake up. We have become increasingly isolated from one another in our pursuit of newer and better “stuff” to the point that children are reared by electronics while parents and grandparents work 40-plus hours a week to pay for more “stuff.”

We consistently live beyond our means, both as families and as a nation. Our president called upon us to get back in the malls as our patriotic duty when thousands were killed in the attacks of 9/11. And now, shoppers in Long Island have declared that bargain prices on plasma TVs and digital cameras were worth more than a man’s life. Shame on us. America has been a better place than that and can be again.

My heart goes out to the family of the slain man and to those unfortunate souls who participated in his death and those who protested when the store was closed as a result.

Wal-Mart reopened that store within a few hours. And the beat goes on.

Macha Greenleaf-Maple
Raytown

Why must stores open so early?

Why is it that all the retailers need to be the first to open their doors the day after Thanksgiving? What happened to families enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday together and giving thanks for all they have been blessed with? This should also include all the employees of the retail stores. I doubt they can enjoy this holiday knowing that they must be at work so early in the morning (midnight or 4 a.m.). Everyone needs some sleep before going to work. This early shopping time has gotten out of control.

Why can’t the retailers have the same specials or incentives to purchase at 9 a.m.? Perhaps they can extend the working hours a little later on that day rather than open so early. Why the big rush? Consumers will buy their gifts with those incentives at a reasonable hour.

Yes, all the retail employees should be thankful to have the job. I just wish everyone could enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with their family as much as I did.

Barbara Reed
Lee’s  Summit

We’ve come a long way, maybe?

As I was driving home last Friday, I was sexually harassed by men in a roofing company vehicle who made a gesture depicting oral sex when they passed me.

When I called the company to complain that their employees were sexually harassing women on the highway, I was informed that it would be “mentioned to the guys.”

When I pressed further, the company representative hung up on me.

This is no unique incident, only peculiar in that these men did not consider the company information on their windshield to be a deterrent.

They assumed that they could get away with it because I would dismiss their threat as just another part of my day.

How bittersweet to see women as contenders for our country’s highest offices and still live with the normalcy of sexual harassment in our everyday lives.

Will we accept violence as normal life?

Jane M. Webb
Kansas City

Life isn’t all about money

The future of America was brought to my attention by two articles in The Star. One was regarding Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow, who was suspended for one game, costing him $235,294 (10/22, Sports, “Browns suspend Winslow; General manager fed up with tight end’s remarks about health issue”).

The other article was about a soldier injured in Iraq and on disability compensation. He has not been able to pay his last three house payments of $532 per month and is about to lose his home (10/22, A-1, “Nation’s foreclosure crisis falls harder on its veterans”).

As a retired teacher, counselor and public school administrator, I’m concerned that fewer are entering the profession due to salaries. However, many are still involved because of the values and leadership they want to show our youth.

One great role model is Tony Severino, who coached for me at Shawnee Mission Northwest before going to Rockhurst High in 1984. Tony has coached for more than 35 years, and his total supplemental coaching salary will not match Winslow’s one-game pay, but Tony doesn’t do it for the money. It is his ministry.

Let’s all work to change America’s future generations, educationally, socially and economically.

Gerald Yoesel
Olathe

Caring about more than economy

The economy is horrible, and I care about that, but I care about more than the economy.

I care about our children and the education that they are (or aren’t) getting.

I care about the callous disregard for another human life — including, but not only, in the womb.

I care about how polarized our culture has become.

I care about the growing number of lies that are accepted as truth.

I care about how few people seem to be able to think through a problem logically.

I care a lot about laws that are selectively enforced.

I care about our freedom.

Betty Reed
Overland Park

Standing up for family values

The Star has done it again. This is my third election and the third time it endorsed my opponent. The first time The Star called me an unattractive candidate, and I had to prove that my wife of 43 years still thought me handsome. The second time it opined that my opponent would make a welcome change representing the 43rd District in Topeka but gave no particular reason.

This time The Star has gone too far, asserting that I seek to use my office to impinge on the privacy of people. My constituents and I want to know what you could possibly be talking about and why you would publish such a statement.

Let’s face reality: The Star’s left-wing editorial board cannot stand conservatives, especially those who are practicing Christians, favor family values and who oppose abortion on demand up to the last minute of gestation.

I am endorsed and supported by more than 50 organizations and agencies and thousands of dedicated voters. The endorsement I most cherish is from Kansans for Life.

As to The Star’s endorsement, you ought to notify my opponent that it is the kiss of death in the 43rd District.

S. Mike Kiegerl
Incumbent Representative 43rd District
Olathe

Economic values

Weeping for America

I recently read some very pertinent articles from the Investor’s Business Daily editorial page of Sept. 24 by respected columnists Robert Samuelson, Michael Cosgrove and Thomas Sowell. They all three discuss our current financial crisis, and they almost make me cry.

Where have our members of Congress been while this current crisis was building? Where was their “reputed wisdom” to hold their elected office? And worse, where were we, the constituents?

The real power for change rests with the Congress. But Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid seem to be out of touch in their zeal for partisan politics — let the American people be damned; I’m getting mine first, and the Democratic Party second.

There will be a long, dark period ahead of us before any sense of normalcy returns to this country. And now we, the electorate, face an election of our next president and Congress. The choices are bleak.

Those standing for office show no sense in their campaigns of the problems ahead, nor of how to bring personal, national, and fiscal discipline back to the forefront of this country’s actions.

Where are those who would speak for such a move? I weep for us.

Robert E. White
Bonner Springs

Stop putting money first

The financial and economic crisis we face brings to us the opportunity to recreate a system that corrects some of glaring deficits of the latest economic regime. The environment and human rights must be integral parts of the new economic order that we create.

No longer can we accept an order where monetary capital takes precedent over human rights. No longer can we accept economic equations where environmental impact is ignored or minimized. No longer can we devour the planet’s resources with impunity.

We must learn that a good, simple life is not only possible but desirable. We all lose in this resource race that ravages the place we call home.

Finally, we must learn to share. We only have this place to call home. There are a lot of us here. It seems self-evident that if we expect to continue living here and want a decent existence, our only chance is to learn to share and get along with each other.

Ken Gates
Overland Park

Nation reaps what it sows

Last Sunday in church, I was reminded of the law of seedtime and harvest. The pastor reminded us that many of the problems we are having today are the result of seeds planted years ago — seeds of greed. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil — seeds of lust, seeds of drunkenness and seeds of ungodliness.

I know many do not believe the Bible, but you cannot dispute that there is a law of seedtime and harvest. Trees, plants, flowers and even animals and humans begin with just a seed and have the ability to reproduce in their own likenesses.

If you want happiness, plant seeds of happiness. Respect, plant respect. Kindness, plant kindness. The same is true for, unhappiness, disrespect and greed.

We have been a blessed nation because we have honored God and his laws. We are at a place today where we are seeing what happens when we choose to turn our backs on those laws and make our own laws contrary to his.

Vote. May God continue to bless us and the United States of America.

Tom Swope
Kansas City

Stop whining and do something

I recently read a blog that basically said it’s a waste of time and energy to speak up about the things we believe in because only the wealthy are heard. I think, instead, we have been a bunch of apathetic complainers who would rather whine about how unfair life is than make the effort to effect change. In previous elections, voter turnout has been abysmal. People are more interested in staying up for Monday Night Football than getting up for Tuesday morning voting.

And there’s the mindset that tells us protest is unpatriotic. Our country built on protest. American people have endured horrific treatment for their beliefs that all citizens deserve the right to vote, slavery is an abomination, schools should be integrated and children are not laborers.

If people want to have a stake in the future of this country, they must speak up, vote and write legislators often. To do nothing is not only a slap in the face of all the citizens and soldiers who fought and died to protect our rights. It is the single most unpatriotic thing anyone can do.

Holly Ites
Kansas City