Devil can't beat the righteous
Many say where was God when the devil entered the Connecticut school Friday (Dec. 14) and killed so many beautiful, innocent children and dedicated teachers? Well, the government kicked Him out of schools, out of government buildings, out of our military, and introduced evil, abominations, a society of greed, hate, adulterers, lust, vengeance, liars, filth and abortions in place of love, faith, hope, righteousness, modesty, grace, knowledge, wisdom, compassion and diligence. But, don't worry, the devil can't conquer the righteous, innocent and believers.
REDGIE C. CAMP, Dunlap, Tenn.
Jobs at Walmart better than many
Walmart hires a lot of people. I worked for Walmart twice as my second job. I worked in four factories and I preferred Walmart; my Walmart pay was better. I worked 80-100 hours per week (factory and Walmart).
Our country harmed our own by outsourcing our jobs! I worked at an auto supplier company 24 years while working at Walmart. The pay and job was better at Walmart.
The customers at Walmart signed our paychecks. Our second and third shift at Walmart consisted of college students and people working two jobs.
I paid federal taxes, state taxes, Social Security, medicare, drug and dental insurance, and, being single, I paid more than my fair share!
ERMA SUE CARR, Cleveland
Filth and violence are all around us
Why are we killing our kids and raping each other? Go to the movie theater and look at the top five movies.
Look at all the filth, violence, murder, rape and filthy language. Then go home and turn on the TV and see the same thing. Listen to the most popular rap songs and hear what they say. And finally, play the top five video games; what violence, filth and trash.
I know you don't want to hear about God, so just tell me how all this filth, violence and trash cannot enter into a young person's life. Continue to support all this immoral trash and you deserve this filthy violent country. And don't run to God and fall on your knees in prayer when things go terribly wrong.
JERRY PLACE, Rossville, Ga.
Moderate gun control needed
A bit of advice to conservatives from a gun-loving liberal: Before you weigh in on this latest tragedy, take a moment to consider: if you continue in your refusal to let this debate occur, by closing it down with hyperbole and vitriol the moment the word 'gun' leaves the lips of someone you don't share a political philosophy with, you will be doing more damage to the tradition of gun ownership in this country than any politician or liberal voter.
Phantom gun-snatching Democrats cannot harm the 2nd Amendment; the NRA very much can. Every time you respond to a call for reasonable (not total) gun control with a childish "Ban fists and feet too!," every time you repost a misleading Facebook status, every time you simply hand-wave away the fact that no other weapon is so lethal, swift, and above all easy to resort to as a gun, you are assuring that when the inevitable addressing of gun violence in America does occur, it will be the worst sort of unreasonable overreach of concentrated power.
You are authoring your own totalitarian nightmare. Reasonable, moderate gun control now, or fear-mongering and total weapons bans later; take your pick.
WES SMITH
Nation's changes not for the better
In light of school violence, local and national, where have we gone wrong?
We grew up with class opening with prayer, Bible readings, and the Pledge, all in public school! Why did we sit back and see that taken away?
Our teachers were strict; our parents stricter. We respected authority and our elders. We were not angels, yet we knew right from wrong. And all the while, every family owned a gun.
America has changed today and not for the better. As a society, violence has become an accepted outcome.
I urge our county leaders to step up and provide the sheriff and local law enforcement the means to protect all of our students. I urge local pastors to step up and work more with schools to ensure prayer is getting in schools. We are a great nation and a proud people. Let's not lose that. May God still bless our nation.
PERRY PERKINS, Apison
Gun by itself can't commit a crime
Why do supposedly well-educated people not realize that no gun can -- of itself -- commit any crime? The weapon is, inherently, a lifeless, inanimate object as is a billiard ball or cue-stick lying on the billiard table.
People kill people -- as Cain killed Abel -- before the invention of the gun. Clubs were common weapons in their day. Knives became common, then bows and arrows, and stones and brickbat -- all inanimate objects used by "perpetrators" to commit murder -- but none were outlawed or considered capable of committing a crime.
I've personally owned many weapons over the past 70 years, and none of them have committed a crime while in my inventory/possession. In this current day I feel a need to have a weapon ready to repel any home invasion effort or other threat to my wife or myself. I might use a weapon to protect the home/property of a neighbor from a criminal. An unloaded weapon is as useless to me as if it were on display in some gun shop.
WILLIAM P. CORBIN (USN Retired) Crossville, Tenn.
Make a difference in a child's life
Cultural decisions often have unintended consequences.
In 1965, the Supreme Court limited official prayer and Bible reading from schools. Previously, students were given a moral compass for life. Soon afterward, we saw an increase of glorifying violence in some song lyrics and entertainment. Babies became expendable under the disguise of "choice," only the baby didn't get a choice. Workplace violence became far too common, and now the lives of 20 precious children and six adults were tragically taken.
Gangs continue to ruin the lives of our youth, and far too many children have no father in their home to guide them into a productive adulthood. We have pushed God out of the public square, and the picture is often discouraging in our society.
So, what can we do? I have determined to do what Jesus did. He said, "Permit the children come to me; do not hinder them ..." Volunteer to mentor young people, teach Sunday school, help a single parent, become a foster parent, adopt, sponsor a child through Compassion International or other such organizations. Make a difference in the life of a child; one child is worth it all!
SANDY HARRIS, Lookout Mountain, Ga.
Ask again: 'What would Jesus do?'
I always have been intrigued by the slogan that young people adopted in the '70s. It simply asks, "What would Jesus do?" or "WWJD."
I have wondered how it would be if the members of Congress would apply this thinking to our national debt crisis.
Would Jesus encourage Congress to eliminate the super tax cut to millionaires, to balance the budget?
Would he cut programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid programs that are sorely needed by low to middle class Americans, especially those either in or soon to be in nursing homes?
Who would you be beholden to, a super lobbyist Grover Norquist or the man who walked this earth and taught us to help and feed the poor, aged and afflicted?
Ask yourself once again, "What would Jesus do?"
DON MYERS, Hixson