Respond to migrants with hearts, minds
We are constantly bombarded with news of families, including children and seniors, walking unimaginable miles that defy description. Injury and death may be the "reward" for such treks. Why would anyone make the decision to "walk" with such prospects possible? I understand and want everyone to consider what's happening. The points of origin for so many of these migrants are dangerously unsafe locales. We know this. We can argue the starting points are not that bad, but I think that borders on us being fooled by rhetoric. They are that bad. There is no other way to explain the "gamble" these folks are taking.
Who are we as Americans? We are, and have been, a country of immigrants. If you don't believe that, look around and include your family. All our religions preach taking in the stranger and offering help and support for those in need. There needs to be immigration controls, but they need to reflect who we are. I am asking you to think about it. The migrants have suffered, not of their own making, but at the hands of tyrants and worse. We need to respond with our minds and hearts.
Irv Ginsburg
Resident grateful for firefighters' help
I'd like to thank the firefighters at Hixson's station 11 for responding late one night to our call for help.
My husband, who is disabled and nonverbal, fell. I could not lift him off the floor. Within minutes of our call to the fire station, three young firefighters were at our door. They were professional, efficient, compassionate and gentle as they lifted my husband into bed and comforted him.
What a blessing they were to us! We couldn't be more grateful for their outstanding help.
Angela Akers
Hixson
Red, blue politics are behind peoples' moves
As we speak, America is undergoing one of the greatest population shifts in its history as blue states give up millions of disgruntled people unhappy with their current state of affairs to red states, where they will find greater commonality with the principles, values, culture and governing doctrines there. The ultimate outcome of this tectonic shift in population will be a red and blue concentration of our population into two nations within one country.
Current citizens are exiting California, New York and New Jersey, for example, and taking up residence in states such as Florida, Tennessee, Texas and South Dakota. This new political subdivision will result in red states adhering to constitutional principles of freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Blue states will hark to big government control, high taxes and welfare programs that feed the people for free.
This restructuring of population along political lines is now going on and will continue.
Bob Jack
Harrison
Cartoon shows identity politics' shallowness
One of the problems with politics based on physical identity is determining how much of a characteristic constitutes membership in a particular group. Is Kamala Harris African-American? Is Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of pure African descent? How much Jewishness made a Jew was a matter of debate among Nazis. How much African "blood" made one Black in the Jim Crow era? Half? Quarter? One-eighth? Homer Plessy, the plaintiff in the SCOTUS case which enshrined segregation for three generations in this country, was so light-skinned he was often taken for white.
Yet cartoonist Bennett has the audacity to portray dark-skinned Sen. Tim Scott declaring "America is not a racist country" with his caption, "Said the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate" (May 1), as if Scott's declaration is discredited because he is the only Black Republican senator, and implying the Democrat Party truly represents the best interests of Black Americans.
Perhaps the above only demonstrates the utter shallowness of identity politics. What may be most telling is the answer to the question: If the U.S. is inherently racist, why are so many millions of "people of color" clamoring to enter?
Gary Lindley
Lookout Mountain, Georgia
Cryptoquote offers philosophy for day
The wife enjoys solving the paper's Cryptoquote, and this morning she said, "Here's a good one: 'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' - Voltaire." Wow, I thought, with visions of the Capitol insurrection running through my head, that is pretty good; and right there in our hometown (and excellent) conservative owned newspaper!
Byron Chapin
Hixson
Our neighbors need affordable housing
As a social worker who has witnessed many clients being evicted in our community, I see daily how multiple systems are failing our community, and my clients. In the article "Chattanooga Community Leaders Brace for Wave of Evictions," published March 20, Emily O'Donnell, a local attorney, speaks to the great number of evictions facing our community.
The courts are reopened, and a flood of evictions are currently being seen, showing us the true cost of these system failures. Members of our community are being left homeless. When we, as a community, have a need for cheap labor, we also have a duty to offer adequate, affordable housing for those members of our communities working these jobs. Credit scores and eviction restraints prevent individuals who are working multiple jobs to make ends meet and from being able to access affordable, decent housing.
I urge the citizens of Chattanooga to speak up and fight for our friends, our family and our neighbors. We need more housing that is decent and affordable; that is a fact. We need to hold Tim Kelly accountable to his promises and get the affordable housing Chattanooga needs!
Susan Yates
Don't blame 'wealth' for all society's ills
A recent rant decrying "obscene wealth" is a judgmental statement that displays either envy of that wealth or resentment that the wealthy have more. Wealth is the reward for some contribution to society by an innovator. That contribution usually has made the economic pie larger for the innovator and the user. The user would not pay the innovator if the product or service did not improve his or her life. The fact that lots of users cumulatively pay the innovator lots of money does not make any of the users 1% poorer, and probably makes the users richer or at least better off. When the economic pie expands, everyone wins.
Blaming wealth for our economic woes is ridiculous. The wealthy for the most part contribute vastly more to society than do the Joe Blow dropouts who produce nothing. The foundations that contribute so much to our local community (look around Chattanooga) are the result of accumulated wealth generously set aside for charitable purposes.
The ranter obviously is ignorant of the fact that the federal tax system is geared to exclude the bottom 45% or so of our citizens from paying any income tax at all. Aren't these 45 percenters helped more?
Our society may have problems, but let's not put the blame where it does not deserve to be put.
Larson Mick