Oh, well
Our Supervisors promised we could go to the circus when it comes to town, but it isn’t coming. We will not be allowed to vote on the question of joining a new State of Jefferson on account of some legalese.
I was anticipating the fun of reading on the Jefferson subject the R-B’s regular Letters pundits who write as though they know everything from God’s intentions to intricacies of government and diplomacy, to El Nino and other climate issues — and lessening shooting deaths. It would have been a new subject to replace their near daily writings on old subjects, giving us their old opinions. I suppose they could write about it, anyway. Maybe they will.
If people would see “Letters” really is a “What If” or “If Then” column we might read new, wilder (even clearer) thoughts by many more contributors.
Don K. Moeller, Kelseyville
Birth documents
I read Tim Snider’s letter concerning the Christmas celebration as being an appropriation of the pagan celebration. I believed that until I read about documents from around 200 CE that explained that Jesus was conceived on the same day that he died. As this occurred on March 25th, nine months from then gets us to December 25th for the birth. This is much more convincing to me, so I have changed my mind concerning the reason for the celebration date.
Kevin Bracken, Kelseyville
Finding meaning
This is a time of less than accurate interpretation of the true meaning of the words used in two constitutional amendments, a great issue these past 20 or so years. This matter needs to be put before this era’s United States Supreme Court and interpreted by them in language that clearly and singularly can be understood by all in today’s era. What was the thinking and purpose of the founding fathers as to their meaning?
My focus on which is the most important of the two is zeroed in on the First Amendment, Freedom of Speech. I am a full supporter of this amendment, but think that we may not totally understand or even desire its present interpretation. The spoken and written word can and does have both great and devastating effects when used. Thus, should the use of same be narrowed in some ways to lesson or eliminate the impact when used to devalue, harm or cause great harm to any group of our citizens who have done nothing to lessen the individual rights of others?
We are guided by the laws of nature in a big way, and for that reason I find myself wondering if the right of total free speech is a correct use of this law. A few examples that come to mind, if I understand the workings of same, we can’t tell a 5 year old to go set a person’s house on fire, we can’t tell the same 5 year old that he/she can stick their hand in a boiling pot of water. You can’t yell in a crowded theatre, “Fire!” if there is no fire. If this is so, then why do we hear and read in our news media’s non fact based exclamations that a product is safe when it’s not, or vocal statements and printed documents that promote hate and violence against persons or groups that can be passed out with out fear of breaking any laws.
This seems to me to legalize bigotry and anti-American core values that promote physical harm, injury and even death to our fellow law abiding citizens. Having only a high school education I am not sure if my feelings about this issue are correct, but my common sense is telling me it is. I do know I would be far better informed if this issue would be brought before the highest court in the land to give a better understanding to all of us, as to just what limits if any, are, in the use of free speech in my every day life.
The Second Amendment needs to take the same path, as many in our current government leadership, continue to drag their heels in dealing with the gun control issue that they offer themselves as only talking heads for the gun lobby on E. Street in Washington D.C.
I am tired of those actions that lower the value of our daily living standards and cause us to look more and more like a police state. It disgusts me to see our citizens regress to the days of the good old west, packing guns around, or viewing police in our public spaces packing military weapons as if we were some third world Nation. We will always have our occasional nut jobs, who will bring harm to some of us, but to cower on the mere threat is and never has been the American way. It would be nice to see our entertainment media, movies, TV programs that tell of the heroes who have become heroes by inventing wonderful things or doing things that greatly improve our nation’s living standards, and less by using violence and weapons to do so. Worse yet is this cropped up idea for each of us to point fingers at our fellow citizens as possible threats to our security, rather then informing proper law enforcement to a suspicious material object that is out of place or use. Have we forgot how vicious the pointing of fingers was during the Nazi era in Germany and how it effected all its citizens? I truly believe that one semester in our children’s high school education should be devoted to a fact base, wide historical review of the Second World War should be taught, so as not to forget the many facets of that event that exposed just how badly humanity is capable of treating each other. After only 60 plus years, it is shocking to see how few of our young people have little understanding of that horrible period of time that affected the entire world.
A far greater number of our young know about the Holocaust and the loss of the six million Jewish souls, but few have any idea of the number of other nationalities and sectors of the human race that also lost their lives, many for reasons other then religious beliefs. We are at this time, seeing a creeping return of many of the seeds of those past horrors, returning to today’s society.
Its time to bring back the role models that our children can strive to become as they live their lives in this Nation. We must understand that it’s a fine line between living free and living within a police state.
Jim Hall, Clearlake Oaks
