Speak Out 03/18/04

Get healthy

I WOULD like to get one thing straight. Health care is not a right. It's a responsibility. People have to learn that the body is not a machine that can be fixed with a pill. Health care starts with preventive maintenance. If you smoke, quit. If you drink excessively, cut back. If your meals are high in fat, eat more responsibly. If you sit on the couch all day watching TV, turn it off, get up and exercise. It's simple to do, and you have the ability to make yourself healthier. In many cases this can be done at a very low cost to you, and you will feel better. I'm sick and tired of people ruining their bodies and expecting doctors to fix it later in life with expensive medications and therapies that their insurance will have to cover. That's what drives up premiums.

Unattended children

THREE TIMES in the past week I have driven in the area of William and Sprigg streets after 11 p.m. and have seen children younger than 10 years old outside walking the streets. Where are their parents, and why isn't anyone taking care of them? Why haven't the police seen any of this? I wish people would realize that it is a crime of neglect to leave your children unattended.

Unsuitable car viewing

I THINK Missouri should put regulations on watching TV in your car. I was driving down Broadway the other night and was stuck behind an SUV with porn playing on the screen. My child saw it and now is asking questions. I think it is my right as a parent to decide when my child should learn about the birds and the bees. Now I have a lot of explaining to do.

Sequence may be off

IT HAPPENS every time I am at the Mount Auburn Road-William Street intersection. Those making a left hand turn from William to go north on Mount Auburn constantly run the red light and are still in the intersection after the other direction has had green for awhile. This is very dangerous. I think the sequence may be off, and this is compounded by drivers who run red lights. I suggest adding a second or two between their yellow and red and the opposite direction's green light.

Extra learning

I SEND my child to summer school, and it is not used as a baby sitter. My child needs that extra time of learning because he isn't a straight-A student. By going to summer school, it helps my child get caught up for the things he missed or didn't understand during the school year.

Speed limit too low

IF YOU ask me, the speed limit on Highway 74, the new bridge and Highway 146 is too low. It should never have been set as low as 45 mph. A much more reasonable speed would be 55 mph. You're looking at stretches of road where there are very few places for people to turn into traffic. I say the speed was set low as an attempt to generate revenue. Have you noticed how the officers are usually out there at the end of the month?

The blame game

IN RESPONSE to the article about black students playing the race card: If a child uses an inappropriate word at school, we blame the parents and say he heard it at home. Does this mean these African-American children's parents are teaching them at a young age to scream racist as an excuse for everything that doesn't come easy or to their satisfaction? I would like to hear from the African-American community about this article. Is it acceptable for the children to call names such as this?

A good deed

I WOULD like to thank the nice man who stopped and helped my son and me at the Cape Girardeau Wal-Mart. My 3-year-old son had his leg stuck between the bars of the shopping cart, and this nice man was walking out with his wife and saw us struggling and heard my son crying with pain. Everyone else was just walking by looking at us, but he stopped and pulled the bars out so I could pull his leg out. Thank you so much for stopping to help. My son and I appreciate it immensely.

Using humor

I AM white. I am a school teacher. Over the years I have taught large numbers of black students. Although he seems to be getting a grip, I understand Jason Bandermann's plight when he was constantly being labeled a racist by black students. I have often found humor to be a good way to defuse potentially explosive situations. For example, a black student once called me a racist. I replied, "I am." The student, seemingly ready to run to the office and tell, paused and asked, "You mean to tell me you're admitting you are a racist?." "Yep," I replied, "I hate white people." Brief silence, then raucous laughter. Case closed.

More for Social Security

I AM so happy to see that someone agrees with me regarding the Social Security maximum tax limit. Removing the limit would force highly salaried people to pay on their full income and not just the first $85,000 or so.

More open-minded

IN RESPONSE to the article "A challenge in the cards": I commend the paper for promoting the drama and musical programs these students get involved in. It's refreshing to see that teenagers are becoming more open-minded and creative in this often materialistic world around them.

World terrorism

ON SEPT. 11, 2001, our world changed. I used to be a pacifist and thought that when people committed murder, they were innocent until proven guilty. But when murderers are killing thousands of people at a time, we can't do that. We have to go after murderers before they kill us, and we have to kill them. The same now has happened in Spain where trains were blown in Madrid. Spain is going to have to go after Islamic terrorists and kill them before they kill us. And I'm asking the editors of the Southeast Missourian to change AP stories that talk about terrorists. I want you to edit that piece and call them what they are. They are mass murdering Islamic people. We have to know what we're fighting, and we have to fight them to the death.

System is wrong

I AGREE with the comment about deadbeat moms. I have a friend who has a child half the time, feeds him, buys his clothes, anything he needs and still has to pay the mom full child support. And the mom still whines about wanting more money. It's hard for the dad to have a life of his own. But he loves his child, so he does it. There's something wrong with this system.