Speak Out 08/03/04

Art's emotions

WHO SAYS a flower has to look like a flower when viewing art? The idea behind most art is not to provide a pretty picture, but to let the artist express his emotions and evoke them in others. Art should stimulate the viewer and allow them the opportunity to see what he wants in the artwork. When a child creates a drawing, you often may not know exactly what it is he drew, but you don't tell him it's bad. Art allows children to use their imaginations, as it does in adults. It's great what is happening in Illmo, and I only hope it continues. The old-fashioned community could use a modern twist.

Museum models

FOR POSSIBLE inspiration for a youth activity center for the Illmo Art District, I suggest visiting the Bootheel Youth Museum in Malden or the City Museum in St. Louis. I think these would be a great option for the Scott City area.

Politics and church

THE CHURCH is not pro-Republican or pro-Democrat or pro any other party. It is pro-God. If our candidates and political parties want support from the churches and church members, they might want to keep that in mind. If you are working against God's teachings, do you really expect Christians to ignore your actions and support you with their votes on election day? If so, brace yourself. You are in for a rude awakening.

Speaking English

I READ the comment that this is an English-speaking country and always will be. Says who? Where is it in writing that the official language of the United States is English? If it is, why don't we speak it? Very few of the people I know use correct English. I've noticed when I travel abroad that most educated folks in other countries speak at least two languages. Why is it that we want to make everyone's life more difficult? Could it be that we're afraid we can't learn the language?

Generational problem

PEOPLE NEED to stop blaming the children of Scott City. I'm really getting sick of people thinking less of me when I'm in another town and someone hears I'm from Scott City. I'm 16 years old and have two siblings in their mid- and late-20s. We grew up in Scott City without getting in any trouble. We still had our fun, but we did it without doing drugs or drinking alcohol or doing stupid things. We were this way because of the way our mother raised us. I appreciate what my mother has done to keep us kids in line. The kids in Scott City who are getting in trouble have parents that allow it. These are the parents who are supplying the alcohol for their kids and their friends to drink at these parties. These are the parents who sometimes even supply the drugs for their kids and their friends. What's it teaching the kids? That it's OK. If something isn't done to end this vicious cycle, it'll keep going on for generations and generations.

More than IQ

I ENJOYED reading the list of estimated IQs of some well-known Americans. I'd like to add a couple of others. JFK's was 119, in the high normal range. Richard Nixon's was 143, superior and gifted according to the IQ measurement. Would you have wanted the presidential election of 1960 to have turned out differently? When it comes to leadership, many characteristics other than IQ make the difference.

Heated education

I SWEATED it out at Cape Girardeau's junior and senior high schools in the late 1950s and early 1960s. We had no air conditioning. Our achievement tests were higher than they are now. In addition, according to my research, the average per-capita wealth of those who attended then surpasses that of any era. To heck with the air conditioning. Keep the heat on the staff and students.

Call a board member

OUR SCHOOLS spend more and more producing less and less. Kids are out of control. Attendance falls every year. Fewer graduate every year. Throwing more money at this won't help a bit. School officials promised not to raise school taxes. Stop them before their August meeting. Call a school board member now.