Editorial

LIBERALS' WHINING SHOWS NO LOGIC

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To the Editor:

Every facet of our lives seem to be taken over by liberal thoughts and the whiners who want government to care for them. The recent responses in "Speak Out" to Mr. Thilenius is a case of point. The lack of logic displayed by the callers is criminal. What kind of people are they who called in and demanded that Mr. Thilenius not have the right to speak his mind, and that the Missourian should have refused an inalienable right?

One caller (June 7) said that Bill Clinton "seems (to be) a very nice president." What is this caller's definition of "nice?" Is it "nice" to swing from one position to another with mercurial swiftness, depending on the group being addressed? Is it "nice" to mislead Haitians into crossing the sea in flimsy craft? Is it "nice" to fail to provide our servicemen in Somalia with tanks and arms requested by the military, and then allow a poor sap like Les Aspin to shoulder all the blame when our men are slaughtered by Somali gunmen?

And as to Presidents' Reagan and Bush sons not serving in the military, what does that have to do with anything? Those men did not run for the presidency, but Bill Clinton did. And thanks to the many Americans who voted their pocketbooks instead of their hearts and minds, Clinton is our country's commander-in-chief.

The next caller is "sick" of Clinton being called a draft dodger. "At least he had enough morals to know we shouldn't have been in Vietnam in the first place." Morals? Does this president know the meaning of morality? Did his morality lead him to cheat on his wife, tell lies with amazing ease, and use people for his own gain. Was it his high morals which led him not only to evade the draft, but to castigate the people who did serve? By "loathing the military" (his own words), Clinton figurative "spat" on our service people just as effectively as those contemptible persons who literally spat on our returning heroes and called them "baby killers."

May I remind you that the military Clinton hated and still hates may have to pull our fat out of the fire now. How about the powder keg of North Korea? Does he have the morals, the intelligence or the guts to do the job?

One of the callers asked who cares what happened 25 years ago. Everyone should care, not only what happened 25 hears ago, but what happened 2000 years ago. Some think that life is a continual "new day, what's behind me is unimportant," Santayana said,

"Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it." Liberals are especially good at forgetting the past unless it suits their purpose. Why were they still vilifying Nixon even after he died? Watergate happened 20 years ago, so the liberal caller's logic should dictate a "who cares" position. Many liberals forget the past when they attempt to resurrect some tired old social programs that have never worked. As disturbing as the previous comments are, the most offensive came from the caller who used the ad hominem fallacy to attack Mr. Thilenius. Citing Perryville as the home of Mr. Thilenius, the caller informed us that Perryville is made up of mostly German people. I assume he/she means that anyone of German heritage has no right to say anything about World Wars I and II since Germany was the enemy. I don't know where this caller has been, but I find the "logic" to be absolutely mind-numbing? Hasn't anyone informed you that thousands of German-Americans fought Hitler. Many died. Today, Western Europeans don't fall under the auspices of the current politically correct movement, so some think it perfectly acceptable to cast aspersions on persons who claim that particular ethnicity. Would it be as acceptable to flippantly dismiss the views of someone from another race, religion or culture? I think not.

To Mr. Thilenius and others who spoke out for our freedoms, thank you for reminding me that good, thoughtful, patriotic citizens still exist. It gives us hope. I am proud of you and another German-American, my husband, who served in the Korean War, as well as my four brothers who served in WWII, and uncles who served in WWI. My parents reared five children. Born before the turn of the century, my dad didn't get the opportunity to read. However, he supported his family and worked on the railroad while helping in the war effort. Today, people who can't read draw disability. Our parents instilled in us the love of learning, responsibility and patriotism, and four of us earned multiple degrees. All four of my brothers retired from the U.S. military, with well over a century of service to our county. My son-in-law is an F-16 pilot, as was his dad who served in Vietnam. My son is a caretaker of God's soil.

My grandchildren -- they can be anything they want to be, thanks to the freedom won by others? My youngest grandson thinks he wants to be a priest. Maybe he will be, thanks to the values our parents taught us. We have learned: first, to serve God; second, to serve our country; and, third, to serve humanity.

I realize that D-Day says it all about commitment to democracy, but let's not forget those men and boys who gave their youth and lives in the Pacific. We didn't have much to fight with, and those men laid down their lives in a "holding action." Our folks sent off a 17-year-old boy. He was home for Christmas leave, but heard about the attack, ran all the way home to pack, and was out hitching a ride to St. Louis within an hour -- headed to California and the Pacific War. He was aboard the U.S. Saint Louis, "The Lucky Lou," so-called because the ship took many hits and remained afloat. God blessed us! Four came home! Another local family was not as lucky -- they sent five sons and got back four. By the way, Wally Tenkhoff gave his life in the battle of D-Day -- another American-German!

Let's all act like Americans, instead of a bunch of cry babies.

SHIRLEY ATES SCHLITT

Oran