Letters to the Editor

Don’t judge; look beyond book’s cover

To the Editor:

Recently it has been brought to my attention that my appearance has compelled some parents to make the closed-minded decision to not allow their children to be taught by me.

I am a senior at Dakota Wesleyan University with hopes to be a high school English teacher. At first, I almost let these comments force me to rethink my career path, but decided that to be ridiculous.

Judging people based on their appearance has been hurting numerous people for many generations. In this case, it is about tattoos, but other cases include obesity, people of color, handicapped people or simply individuals who don’t fit into a community.

Coming from a rural upbringing, I have never in my life found personal gratification in judging others based on their appearance, so I don’t understand when it happens to me.

What I do understand, and firmly believe, is that I am educated, a good mother and have volunteered in my community for the last four years without difficulty due to my appearance.

What most people do not realize is, when I am dressed accordingly, they cannot see any of my tattoos and could not possibly assume that the ink in my skin diminishes my intelligence in any way.

It would probably be appalling to these individuals to find that there are many white-collar members of society who have extensive tattoo work done, including surgeons, judges and even attorneys.

Whether it is jealousy or ignorance that fuels how hurtful some people can be, we will never know. One thing that I am sure of, though, is I hope that others can read this, who happen to look different in some way or another, and not be discouraged from what their endeavors are in life.

At times, I regret the choices I’ve made in life that have had an effect on how I look, but that remains an experience that our youth can hopefully learn from in the future. I will never regret striving to make a better life for myself and my children and my hopes to make a difference as a teacher, as should nobody else.

I would never lash out at people who choose to be judgmental; I just hope and pray that they can see past the cover of the book.

Gail Duley, Mitchell

Pay for new federal programs as we go

To the Editor:

How really big is our $14 trillion national deficit?

If you want to really know, consider the following.

1. If the shuttle Endeavor wanted to travel 14 trillion miles, it would have to circle the earth at least 560,000,000 times. I hope our astronauts have enough air sickness pills.

2. If you were to convert 14 trillion seconds into years, you would end up with approximately 443,636 years. I would suggest you don’t try to count that high.

3. If you spend $1 million per day, it would take you nearly 38,400 years to spend $14 trillion. Have fun shopping.

4. If you like hamburgers and had 14 trillion of them and invited every man, woman and child on earth to your cookout, each person would need to eat at least 2,333 burgers. Better have a few million bottles of Pepto available. Believe me, you will need them.

Tell Sen. Johnson, Sen. Thune and Rep. Herseth Sandlin to pay for new programs with the “Pay As You Go Plan” as ordered by President Obama. If they don’t, maybe us voters should implement a new plan, a “Don’t Pay Then You Must Go Plan.” We just can’t keep adding to our national debt. We can never pay back our present national debt of $14 trillion, let alone add any more to it.

Joseph L. Pengitore, Mitchell

Inability to pay for homes is problem

To the Editor:

The money is about to run out for the government housing program that has been helping the housing industry at least temporarily. It should be temporary because the government has been selling the houses to low income people without any down payment. Seems to me that was what got the housing industry into trouble in the first place — selling houses to people that couldn’t afford to pay for them.

For every house they buy we are adding to the national debt. And if we don’t find jobs for these people the government is apt to end up with a lot of houses.

Seems to me the sensible thing to do rather than foreclose on all these houses would have been to let the people stay in their houses as long as they maintained them and paid a reasonable interest on their debt. If necessary, the government could have given them a temporary loan to pay the interest. That in turn should have kept the financial institutions from going bankrupt.

People tend to forget that President Bush asked Congress several times to create an overseeing board to check up on the big financial institutions, but the Democratic Congress never did anything about it. Now Obama and the Democratic Congress are trying to do the same thing and the Republicans are dragging their feet.

We need to check up on these big institutions and the people that are running them so they don’t con the public out of all that money while they pocket millions. It is criminal for these people to make more in one day than the working people that are producing the wealth in this country earn in a year. We need some laws to level the playing field.

John Zilverberg, Highmore

Enlightenment is finding your true will

To the Editor:

Beliefs are only an illusion. They are ideas the mind convinces itself to be real, but are not. When one becomes attached to a belief, they separate themselves, isolate themselves, from the rest of the world (I believe this versus those who do NOT believe this). This is not unity. It is division. Enlightenment, a sense of unity with the world, does not create this division. Enlightenment is finding your true will. The only way to do this is introspection, to look within.

Converting someone to a belief is the process of filling the ears so full of words the same words come out of the mouth. Those who spread their beliefs sound like parrots to me; always repeating what has been taught, never thinking about what is said. I ask to observe, to think, to not repeat what I am saying. We have rational judgment; use it. To not use one’s rational thought, to simply follow authority, makes one a secondhand thinker, a secondhand person.

People who need others to join them in their beliefs are simply insecure in those beliefs and because of those beliefs. They are looking for others to confirm those beliefs. Others have more malevolent motives.

Actions determine one’s moral character. Anyone who confuses actions with belief is either ignorant or corrupt. To claim that beliefs rather than action determine moral character is a way to manipulate people. Some try to claim some kind of moral authority by their beliefs. These “authorities” discourage us from using our rational judgment. This is what I call corruption.

When people use their rational judgment, it extinguishes the power of those “authorities.” When one becomes a light unto one’s self, one need not seek the light of another.

Eric Nase, Mitchell

Give to veterans through poppy sales

To the Editor:

On April 30 and May 1, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Corn Palace City Post No. 2750 and its Auxiliary of Mitchell will be holding their annual “Buddy” Poppy Day. Volunteers will be asking for donations for this worthwhile cause.

Since 1922, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States have conducted an annual distribution of buddy poppies to raise funds for the charitable programs on behalf of the needy and disabled veterans.

Today, the buddy poppy is distributed by posts and auxiliaries of the VFW in every state in the union.

When you donate to the poppy fund, you are contributing to direct assistance to needy and disabled veterans, the VFW National Home in Eaton Rapids, Mich., and to the VFW Rehabilitation Service.

The buddy poppy is assembled by disabled, needy and aging veterans in Veterans Administration hospitals, state veterans homes and domiciliaries across the country. The majority of the proceeds derived from each campaign conducted by VFW posts and their ladies auxiliaries is retained locally to provide for veterans services and welfare.

When you are asked on April 30 or May 1 to donate for a buddy poppy, wear it proudly. Your help will go a long way toward helping a deserving veteran. We realize the economy has hit most of us in the pocketbook, but any donation to this worthwhile campaign would be greatly appreciated.

It is truly all about veterans helping veterans and living up to VFW’s motto “Honor the Dead by Helping the Living.”

They gave. Will you?

Carol Schoenfelder, Poppy Chairman, VFW Auxiliary No. 2750, Mitchell

Tags: letters to the editor, gail duley, pay for federal programs, joseph pengitore, pay for homes, john zilverberg, enlightenment, eric nase, poppy sales, carol schoenfelder, opinion, tattoos