Traverse City Record-Eagle

Opinion

November 4, 2009

Letters to the Editor: 11/04/2009

Government run amok

I have admired the writings of Dr. Thomas Sowell for many years, for his towering intellect on the one hand, as well as for his evolved ideology. An avowed Marxist at one point in his career, he is an excellent example of what a probing intellect is all about, what an objective, rational thinker can accomplish by pursuing truth to the nth degree.

The amazing thing about the unabashed acceptance of Marxist/socialist theory in America today is that only 50 years ago even the mere thought of Marxism here was anathema. Yet like a mushroom cultured in the dark and fed a steady diet of animal waste it has bloomed and thrived in a dank atmosphere of cynicism and growing despotism, nursed by a relatively small group of people who have made a career of lying and deception in order to impose their will over the people, and to contradict the Constitution at the same time.

Ironically, 50 years is a historical lifetime and only old people have retained sufficient first-person memory to think deductively and rationally and to understand what the future holds for this great nation if the people fail to reassert their control over a government run amok.

Doug Fowler
Elk Rapids

'Love casts out fear'

With reports of the H1N1 virus spreading through the region, this is a time to be alert not only to health codes but also to the quality of our individual and collective thinking. Constant news updates and aggressive descriptions of symptoms frequently spread fear rather than helping to keep it in check.

An unfortunate side effect becomes fear of our fellow man -- the concern that we or others may unwittingly become agents of harm, and a desire to minimize contact with others in the very places designed to help us support one another such as schools, community centers and other public places.

How do we find our way through this challenge without feeling overwhelmed by fear? Now, more than ever, is a time to embrace opportunities for selfless outreach -- for churches, clinics, the media and everyone interested in health and healing to extend their influence for good.

Many agree with the biblical passage, "Love casts out fear." Through united efforts to keep fear in check, needed solutions become more readily available and health is more easily restored.

Wendy DesAutels
Empire

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