Do not overlook Memorial Day meaning
This Monday we will observe Memorial Day. This day is a sacred day to honor and remember the men and women who gave their lives defending our country.
Memorial Day solemnly reaffirms from year to year a national act of enthusiasm and faith.
The flags fly at half staff until noon on that day to show our remembrance of their ultimate sacrifice.
Let us always keep up this tradition so we will always remember these men and women. God bless them and may they rest in peace.
Never forget the sacrifices and hardship of the families and friends these heroes left behind.
Jack Pine, Dunlap, Tenn.
***
Education funding is investment in future
Much of what I have been able to accomplish both professionally and personally as an adult was due in large part to the education I received as a youngster while attending public schools in Tennessee.
During that entire journey, I never paid a penny for my education. It was provided “free” to me by the state, in other words, by the taxpayers of Tennessee.
This is a debt that I incurred and will never be able to fully repay. The only way I can begin to make a dent in this obligation is to support the students who are now receiving their “free” public education.
In my view, each of us have this same indebtedness that we must repay.
As a senior on a fixed income, I realize the difficulty of this financial obligation. However, education is the research and development that sustains a society over time. It is an investment that must be maintained for the long term good of everyone.
I fully support Superintendent Rick Smith’s request for a needed increase in funding.
Kenneth Barker, Hixson
***
Iraq war wrong by any and all measures
Candidates trying to justify their support for invading Iraq do not impress me. It’s not just “hindsight” to know that invading Iraq was a huge mistake.
In early 2002 many of us knew it was a bad idea, destined for catastrophe and the tragic loss of honorable American lives.
Trying to suddenly impose American values on the tribal cultures of the Middle East was never a good idea. Unprovoked bombing of another country was never a good idea. Deposing the dictator of Iraq who counter-balanced the dictator of Iran was never a good idea. Lying to the American people (and the world) about WMDs was never a good idea.
The endless war in Iraq is the result of craven arrogance, ignorance, incompetence and greed.
One didn’t need “hindsight” to see that in early 2002; one needed only a modicum of common sense and knowledge of the region. Those who were bamboozled into supporting that disaster have Bush and Cheney, the foolish mass media and themselves to blame.
The average citizen can be excused for being misled; there is no excuse for government officials who failed to question and take a stand against the fraud.
Katherine Zammit, Sewanee, Tenn.
***
City should fix streets, avoid RV park
Thank you, Yusuf Hakeem and the City Council, for deferring the RV park in the center of our city.
It should never come to fruition. We do not need a RV park.
What we do need are two new streets. Both Randolph and Benton streets are a disastrous, unsafe disgrace.
Paula Skrivan