Remember Luther with acts of kindness
On Oct. 20, 2014, we lost Luther Masingill at the age of 92. He was on the same station since 1940, more than 74 years, interrupted only by his two-year stint in World War II. When you see a list of records that will never be broken, Luther’s longevity is at the top. Every day someone thanked him for waking them up, for reuniting them with their pet or for finding their car keys. Nothing made him happier than brightening someone’s day. Luther was widely known for helping people. The best way to remember him on his birthday (March 9) each year is quite simple. Let’s act like Luther. Those “random acts of kindness” are what defined Luther. It’s how he lived his life each day. If Luther could do it 365 days a year, surely we can do it on Monday and again on his birthday each year going forward. I hope area schools, churches and employers will participate and encourage everyone to act like Luther for a day!
David Carroll
Scenic City blind to old, disabled
I believe many citizens in Chattanooga are blind to a population in desperate need of help. Chattanooga has multiple public housing sites, such as the Gateway Towers and Mary Walker Towers, specifically for older adults and disabled individuals. What is sad to me, though, is this is a critically fragile population that is almost invisible. As a young social worker, I have the opportunity to connect these individuals to local resources, help them stand up for their rights, and even just sit and laugh with them when they are feeling down. Many of the older adults living in these sites have countless unmet medical needs, unfortunately pass away without anyone knowing of their death for hours or sometimes days, and are often victimized financially or sexually. While no individual can change public housing overnight for these individuals, Chattanooga can be educated about their living conditions. I feel public housing has a dark stigma of crime, violence and poverty in our city that pushes people away from even learning about it. What we need, however, is to get the city involved in this problem and to let this population know it isn’t forgotten.
Ashley Stevenson
Gardenhire vote just offered cover
Recently, Sen. Todd Gardenhire appeared at the Pachyderm Club to give his reasons and justify why he and other committee members voted against the Insure Tennessee resolution. However, there were a few reasons he omitted. First, and most importantly, Gardenhire and members of the “Magnificent Seven,” by killing the resolution in committee, gave cover to other extreme conservative Republican state legislators to avoid any floor discussion or debate in trying to defend their indefensible position on the insurance resolution. Secondly, the extreme right must stay on the good side of Americans for Prosperity. One never knows when he or she needs to dip into the Koch brothers’ bottomless money well for campaign funds or to create propaganda such as the two slick flyers I received imploring me to contact my state representatives to “Vote No” on the resolution. Finally, Gov. Haslam should be applauded for trying to get the more than 280,000 Tennesseans some health care insurance relief. However, in the end, Gardenhire and his committee got all Republican politicians off the hook. They simply sought the status quo to save their political faces without offering any viable and positive insurance alternative. Typical but shameless.
Greg Williams