Talking about death is still a problem
The events taking place at Shipley Cemetery are a symptom of a long-standing social problem.
We make it a point to educate our children about sex, drugs and religion, but how many of us speak to our children about death, grief or dying?
I like to say that it’s the last frontier because it is still taboo for many people. It’s easy for media, namely programs like “Twilight,” “Ghost Hunters”, etc., to exploit our curiosities; sensationalizing or even romanticizing death because of this denial.
I can’t say that I agree with Mr. [Stacy] Swallows’ handling of the situation, but I can say that I sympathize with his being frustrated by the blatant disrespect for this property and the people interred there.
BARBARA SISCO
Hixson
Keep a variety on comics page
I’m pleased the Times Free Press is adding “Pickles” to the line-up when “Cathy” retires. It’s been in my online comics subscription for a while.
However, adding a new strip has opened the inevitable can of worms about comics page content. I hope that some of the recent complaints regarding other comics will not be taken as an excuse to cancel them, namely “Get Fuzzy,” “Pearls Before Swine,” “Pooch Café,” “Baby Blues,” and “Mother Goose & Grimm.” These comics are the first thing I turn to in the morning and one of the main reasons I have a daily subscription.
While there are several strips on the page that I never read (“Rex Morgan” and “Judge Parker” being two), I recognize that other people may like them and just skip over them. It’s like changing the channel if you don’t like a show instead of trying to get the network to cancel the program.
Please don’t remove any of the current, more modern strips just because some people don’t get the humor – there are plenty of us that do. Put “Monty” in the regular page, or take a poll for comics to add, not substitute (“Dog Eat Doug” is good one).
STACY MIRANDA
Signal Mountain
Socialism won’t work in nation
On Sept. 9, the following statement was on CNN: Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that the “Cuban model” no longer works, an apparent admission of failings in the communist economic model introduced by his revolution more than 50 years ago.
If Fidel Castro can acknowledge that communism and socialism do not work in his country, why are we not smart enough in the U.S.A. to acknowledge that communism and socialism will not work in our country either?
You say, well, we haven’t elected any socialist or communist yet. They hide behind the “Progressive” title.
I have been reading the Communist Party USA propaganda for around 10 years and the following statement was made in a Communist Party USA report titled “Carrying the People’s Election Victories Forward”: “At least seven of the newly elected members of the House will join the Congressional Progressive Caucus bringing the number of members to at least 71. Two Progressive Caucus members were elected to the Senate.”
BYRON J. HENDRIX
Cleveland, Tenn.
Search and find evidence of God
It may be hard to believe or accept, but with the prayers of Christians, if anyone reads the Bible, Matthew, Chapter 7, verses 7-8, they will see those verses say seek and you shall find, knock and the door will open. These verses show if anyone truly wants to and searches hard enough, they will find evidence of God. They will also find a church which most members try to worship and live as the Bible commands.
JENNIFER BRADFORD
Nuclear pact needs Corker’s support
Sen. Bob Corker is to be congratulated for his thoughtful consideration of New START, a strategic nuclear arms agreement signed by the United States and Russia in April. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of which Sen. Corker is a member, is scheduled to vote on New START this coming Thursday, Sept. 16. Put simply, New START will make us safer and I hope Sen. Corker will support it.
The treaty reduces the threat posed by nuclear weapons by requiring stringent provisions that allow us to effectively monitor Russia’s weapons activity. By the time of the vote, we will have been without essential verification mechanisms for 285 days.
Unlike most senators, Sen. Corker has attended most of the hearings the committee has held on the treaty and has done his homework. He knows that the treaty has overwhelming support from military and national security experts of both parties, including most of the current and former commanders of our nation’s nuclear forces, and many others including former Tennessee Sen. Howard Baker.
The treaty is essential for our national security and to global efforts to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists and prevent other countries from developing them.
HENRY G. SPRATT JR.
Professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Freedom from religion guaranteed
The First Amendment guarantees us both freedom from religion and freedom of religion.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;…” The “no establishment” clause guarantees freedom from religion, and the “free exercise” clause guarantees freedom of religion.
You are not free to exercise your religion unless you are first free from your neighbor’s religion. If you must bow to your neighbor’s god or pay even one cent to your neighbor’s church/mosque/temple (or to a school connected to them), then you are not free to exercise your own religion.
Nell Mohney (in her column Sept. 4) and the rest of the Christian right claim that there is no such right as freedom from religion. They make this claim for the same reason that gun control advocates claim there is not constitutional right to own guns: they are dedicated to destroying that right.
I advise all non-Christians to buy guns, in case the Christian right is planning religious cleansing.
JAMES WALLACE
THOMTE
Ringgold, Ga.