Selective erasure of history today?
During the past few years, many have demanded monuments concerning the Civil War be removed, and we hear demands even to change Southern street names.
What about Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta? The parent company of Mercedes-Benz, Daimler-Benz AG, was founded in Germany in 1926.
Early on, the company made motor vehicles and internal combustion engines. In WWII, the company built aircraft, tank and submarine engines, and barrels for Mauser combat rifles for the German war machine. In 1944, almost half of Daimler’s 63,610 employees were forced civilian laborers, prisoners of war and concentration camp detainees, all housed in prison-like conditions.
Now we have this sparkling sports stadium named after a German company that had a huge role helping the Nazi government kill 6 million Jews, millions of Germans and untold numbers of people across Europe and Russia (not including thousands of Americans killed helping free Europe).
Was Mercedes-Benz’s history considered in allowing its name to be placed on the stadium? So, it’s OK to erase our country’s past but raise our glasses in honor of a company that served Nazi Germany during one of the darkest times in human history.
Robert Westmoreland
Ellijay, Ga.
Double standard in our politics?
Lying Democrat, bad. Lying Republican, good.
Cheating Democrat, bad. Cheating Republican, good.
Adulterous Democrat, bad. Adulterous Republican, good.
Lying, cheating, adulterous Democrats are condemned, forced to resign and become unelectable to public office.
Lying, cheating, adulterous Republicans are forgiven, not forced to resign and are elected to public office.
This situation is not only deplorable, it’s highly hypocritical.
John Logan
Praise for PETA, animal crackers
Every year millions of Barnum’s Animals crackers are sold around the world. Millions of children view the depiction of animals on the red and yellow boxes and draw their conclusions.
Nowadays, young fans of the popular treat have a new scene to interpret. Thanks to collaboration between PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and Nabisco, Barnum’s Animals crackers will no longer feature images of wildlife held captive behind bars in circus boxcars.
At PETA’s urging, Nabisco has redesigned the packaging for its 116-year-old product. Now the boxes show seven wild animals, including the near-extinct Siberian tiger, roaming free on a sunlit savanna.
The new box suggests a growing intolerance with caging and chaining animals so they can perform for human audiences. Indeed, PETA’s advocacy on behalf of abused animals resulted last year in the demise of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus after a 146-year run.
The new look of Barnum’s Animals crackers indicates we are on the right track toward a lofty goal. As Gandhi observed, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
Carolyn Mitchell