GOP commissioners out of step with time
There are silences in Hamilton County's history. The bust of Confederate Gen. A.P. Stewart at the front doors of the Hamilton County Courthouse conveys a quietness that's not peaceful.
County citizens understand the Civil War and Civil Rights movement gave us all equal rights; they are aware that African-American veterans served with heroics as invisible soldiers in Jim Crow armies in the world wars.
Many truths have been suppressed for four years by Republican county commissioners, who, acting as overlords, looked upon anyone who wanted to relocate the bust as an iconoclastic attacker on their cherished belief of the Lost Cause.
In so doing, Republicans keep the erected symbol of servitude present, and their refutations make a mockery of the preamble of the Declaration of Independence "that all men are created equal. "
Hamilton County Republican commissioners could have performed a civic gesture of goodwill by moving the bust to non-government grounds, showed an understanding of the county's past to present-day values and beyond by interjecting the narrative to our county's history.
Dewayne Wrinkle, Hixson
Set your calendars to register to vote
Sept. 28 is National Voter Registration Day, a day that provides us with an opportunity to ensure that we - along with our friends, colleagues and neighbors - are registered to vote and able to cast a ballot in the next election, be it local, state or national.
National Voter Registration Day was first observed in 2012 and since that time, more than 4.5 million Americans have registered to vote on this day of civic celebration, a celebration of democracy.
In Hamilton County and the rest of Tennessee, eligible adults can register at https://ovr.govote.tn.gov/
It's also a good time to update your voting information if you have recently moved.
During these hyper-partisan times, we all want our voices to be heard. By far, the most effective way to ensure that is by voting. And you can't vote if you don't register. Be ready to exercise your rights.
Frank Maurizio
Words on clothing do not equal policy
This week we were regaled with the "shocking" story that AOC went to the MET Gala wearing a dress printed with "Tax the Rich!"
Those who are screaming loud and long about AOC should remember the time that Melania Trump left a shelter for homeless immigrant children wearing a jacket printed with "I don't really care, do you?"
Personally, I consider the insult to small children to be the greater offense. The rich can take care of themselves. They always have. Truly that's the point.
But to the flummoxed and blathering pundits, it may help to remember that anyone, from any party, can be arrogant, callous and foolish. But words on a piece of clothing do not make policy.
Katheryn A. Thompson