An April 3 letter, "America hurtling down an irreversible path," was 100 percent correct.
If our Congress does not stop acting for the perpetuation of its political parties, Democrat or Republican, and be for America first, our nation is on a steep and slippery slope to become less. Congress is not doing its job. Political infighting between parties must cease, and some work for the betterment of America should be accomplished.
We now need great leadership and statesmen to bring our nation back from potential failure. We citizens and our elected representatives should be trustworthy keepers of our Constitution. We are faltering. The Constitution is the foundation that made us a great nation. Our Constitution must be respected and honored to make it work as is. No personal interpretations or twisting and spinning of original wording.
We need our best men and women to lead our nation - aflame with truth, zeal and vision, patriots all. We citizens are responsible to choose wisely at election time.
Troy E. Bowman
Parks investments will pay off in future
Sen. Lamar Alexander's recent visit to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is certainly good news. This great park needs nearly $50 million in repairs, and it needs help from our lawmakers more than ever.
Chickamauga needs repair of its roads, monuments and historic plaques if visitors are going to be able to enjoy it and learn from its history. It is just one of the national parks across the country that need a total of nearly $11.6 billion in maintenance.
Our park hosts nearly a million visitors a year, and the National Park Service says it brings in about $77 million to our economy.
I thank Sen. Alexander for visiting Point Park and making a commitment to our treasured national parks by supporting dedicated funding legislation to fix our them. It will make Chattanooga even more appealing to outsiders and will put money into local economies in East Tennessee.
Case Ingle
Too terribly tired of tweeting Trump
I like the idea of side by side sample ballots for upcoming elections as was the case in Friday's (April 6) Times Free Press. It's much easier to compare candidates than when they are on separate pages as was the case earlier in the week.
On a separate note, I think President Trump is in for a disappointing surprise in November if he continues his current pace of being arrogant and insulting to everyone. A former boss of mine would say he lacks tack, fails to see the big picture and does not work well with peers, and others and would give him a "B" rating on a performance review. Every time he tweets, I think of Bobby Day and his song "Rocking Robin" when he sings: "love to hear the robin going tweet, tweet, tweet." I am getting tired of Mr. Trump's tweets.
Ralph Hetzler
Oak Ridge nukes could save lives
We redefine "love" as if terrine Jehovah had not already defined it. We repent. God, please forgive us.
Remember, David Cook (Times Apr. 8), "God reveals his love for us in that while we were still evildoers Messiah died for us" (Romans 5:8). What were we and the people of Hiroshima? Sinners; bad people doing bad things. Were they worse? No; "Unless ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Did God redefine our vileness as goodness? No; when we don't love God enough to obey him, when our lifestyles pretend the Holy One is unholy, we remain guilty. "Let God be true, and every man a liar."
So which counts as love, Hiroshima or ill-advised sex leading to killing a million unborn babies a year? Nuking Hiroshima, we think, saved lives. Read "Downfall" by Richard Frank on the skyrocketing death toll a few more weeks of evil Japanese courage would've caused.
Navy disarmament before Pearl Harbor left Japan with the strongest Pacific navy. An arms race might have prevented Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima, maybe. Disarm today and anyone keeping a few nukes will gain power.
So Oak Ridge sinners may build nukes in Christian love.
Andrew Lohr
Overdose medicine for free? Seriously?
Why should we provide for free this overdose medicine to everyone? Drug addicts are going to use drugs anyway, and EMS should be able to administer it. Compare it to an EpiPen. They are so expensive, and every restaurant, school or food establishment should have one. My children are not drug abusers, but one has a tree nut allergy. It costs a fortune for her to buy new ones every year, and she has been exposed to nuts in restaurants after asking if there were nuts in the food. This costs a huge emergency room bill. People with allergies cannot help it. Drug users have a choice.
Mrs. Star Fraterman
Graysville, Tenn.
Proud these kids 'will replace me'
As an old white guy, a part of the key demographic group for your newspaper, I'm writing to congratulate you for your cartoons's elevation to the the level of Laura Ingraham and Ted Nugent. I enjoy a little edginess, but your pictorial excoriation of a generation trying to change our lives for the better is misleading and disgusting.
All generations have those who don't always present the best images. Mine had hippies, poets and pot smokers, but we also protested the Vietnam war, which helped end it. These kids, speaking out about not being murdered by guns, are heroes. Millions of them will come of age soon, and they should be listened to as the front line in this effort.
The Times Free Press is half a fine newspaper and, as much as I would like to cancel my subscription, I won't because I then lose the Times [page]. I admire these kids and I would be proud to join them, but they don't need me. They are doing fine on their own. Never forget they will someday replace you. They will replace me too, and for the first time, I feel good about that.
Weyman Fincher
Cleveland
Stupidity running amok in society
We've read numerous articles about the recent Florida murders of 17 high school students. It's been determined that the school failed, the local police failed, the officer on site failed and the FBI failed. Yet, the liberals blame the NRA. Afterward, the Florida government raised the age to buy a semi-automatic rifle to 21. I suppose if the murderer was 22 or 23, they would have raised the age to 25. Bear in mind that 11 teenagers die each day from texting and driving. Maybe we should raise the age of buying a smartphone to 21. Teenagers are so smart that they are eating Tide detergent pods. And these same teenagers now want to debate the Second Amendment.
Stupidity and the lack of common sense have run amok in today's society.
Gary Hayes
Ooltewah
Clear, intelligent language shines
I grew up in the South. As a child, I had difficulty understanding my functionally illiterate father, with whom I got along well. By the time I was 19, I met friends from "southern New York." Their speech was clear. I understood the words, consisting of articulated vowel and consonant sounds, and these were arranged more intelligently. These were not the mumbled sounds Dad attempted and I failed to translate.
Intelligence and urbanity can outshine regional dialect no matter what patois is in vogue. Language is learned behavior and can be the carrier of cultural bigotries and arrogance, as an April 9 article implies. Alternatively, it may be a fusion of languages melded together without concern for ethnicity, social status or political affiliation. It is not difficult to conceive of immigrants cobbling together a language while trying to maintain a quality of life in a new country.
Finally, language and the way it is articulated may not be arbitrary. Language is a system that allows communication among humans. Depending on its rank (how it is used), success or failure is achieved. The only way I could respond to the article is because I understood the words you wrote.
Allen Ramsey