Are car deaths worth price of technology?
Society pays a price for technological advancements made. Progress from plodding, struggling hunter/gatherers dying young from beasts, bacteria and banes to fast-moving, easy-living workers came at a price. We are now dying old from heart disease and strokes (the world's leading causes of death). Advancements in agriculture created an improved lifestyle at an acceptable price. This does not mean all advancements have an acceptable price. A debatable advancement is the automobile. The 10th cause of deaths globally are road-/automobile-related. About 1.4 million deaths are part of the price paid in 2016 for independence, convenience, speed and comfort in transportation. Should we abandon all advancements? No. What we should do is ask for an answer to the question: What is the price we will pay for this wonderful new advancement? Just as we have environmental impact statements, we should require society impact statements.
Michael Mainz
Trump compared to 'Mein Fuhrer'
I was born in 1945 and grew up watching black and white videos of a short, mustachioed man standing before a huge crowd of Germans who were chanting undecipherable words in unison with straight-armed salutes. Even as a child, it was apparent to me that this man was near ecstatic with narcissistic pleasure because of the crowd's adoration. Equally, the crowd was in thrall to the hysteria of the moment and feeling the power of social validation of their own existence. Eventually, this hysteria would result in the death of millions of people in WWII and the murder of 6 million Jews.
Today in America, these scenes are being replayed on a regular basis except with a chubby narcissist with small hands in living color. The crowd is chanting "lock her up" or "CNN sucks" rather than "blood and soil," and the straight-armed salutes are replaced by the waving of cardboard signs with adoration for "Mein Fuhrer." All the pundits and "talking heads" say that we can't compare this aberration to Nazi Germany, but how many people must die before we defeat this evil and drive a stake through its heart?
Terry Stulce
Ooltewah
Vote for health care; vote for Democrats
Health care is a critical issue for our state. Nationally, Tennessee is ranked No. 44 in the health of our citizens. One-third of non-Medicare covered adults in Tennessee have pre-existing conditions. Republicans want to take away our ability to get insurance to cover these conditions. In fact, the attorney general of the state of Tennessee has joined a lawsuit (Texas v. Azar) that would end the health care act's constitutional mandate.
Tennessee is number one in bankruptcies, and medical bills are a primary reason. Forty-two percent of people diagnosed with cancer exhaust their life savings within two years.
We are also number one in hospital closures (per capita). That means that many of our neighbors in rural areas have lost their access to nearby health care.
I plan to vote for candidates who want us to have accessible and affordable health care: Dr. Danielle Mitchell for Congress, Karl Dean for governor, and Phil Bredesen for Senate. I hope you will vote for them also.
Dona Smith
Walden