Hate is a dead end

I’d like to respond to a recent letter by Mary Brock of Albany that states, “Republicans hate Democrats.”

Her letter saddens me because in my very long life of almost 80 years I’ve known many Republicans of all kinds — moderate, far right, rich, poor, educated and some with little formal schooling; but I’ve never known even one who hated Democrats.

I’m sure they exist, just as some Democrats who hate Republicans exist, but they are in the minority.

Hate is a dead end, Mary, and nothing good can come of it.

I’m sorry there are Americans who hate our president, George Bush. A man who begins each day at the White House in prayer, asking for God’s guidance, can’t be all bad.

All our presidents have done good and all have made mistakes.

In my opinion, President Bill Clinton does not set a good example for young Americans, and we don’t share the same values, but when he was president I respected him for the office he held.

America has enemies, the number one being radical Islam. If we are to survive, we must be united, not divided. That means Republicans and Democrats; all races and religions who love this country must put aside our pettiness and hatred, unite behind our next president, whoever that may be, and work together for a better world.

Maryland Johnson, Lebanon

State vs. parental rights

The death of any child is tragic. No more to those that trust in the human hand to preserve life than those that trust in God’s. Many conclude the recent infant death was preventable and the parents should be prosecuted. I suggest caution is called for in determining where state’s rights should pre-empt parental rights.

You say the state should intervene and remove the child from this form of abuse. OK, consider the Big Mac you feed your child. Health trends show this is not good for the child, contributing to obesity, diminished quality of life and shortening of years lived. It isn’t a stretch to see the hand of the state intervene in this circumstance. The machinations of the bureaucratic mind never cease to amaze.

So how do we handle the case where a family is employing religious grounds in seeking health and well being? How do you differentiate this from outright abuse claimed to be performed for the same purpose? It seems consistency is the primary factor. Have the beliefs been held long and have the parents followed them consistently for themselves as well as their children? If so, they are raising their family within the boundaries of their constitutional rights.

To those that consider such belief as drivel, hogwash and superstition, I suggest so are yours. You trust in the hand of an imperfect creature and an imperfect system. You content yourself with thinking you are right and all others are wrong; therefore you must have a preemptive responsibility to foist your thoughts, beliefs and practices on others. Hmm! Kind of sounds like what the framers of our constitution rebelled against.

Just as you feel we must tolerate the debauchery performed in various bars as a matter of personal freedom, so must we tolerate those who raise their family in a different manner than us. Do we condone those who harm directly in the name of religious freedom? No! However, people get sick and people get well, physician or no. Though a physician might believe a condition is treatable through their mechanisms, there is no guarantee. The belief in a promise of healing that was given to believers through the bodily suffering inflicted on Jesus is not empty. Those who trust to that end consistently for themselves and for their children should be allowed to do so as a matter of religious freedom.

Rich Rowley, Sweet Home

God made cats, too

An Albany police dispatcher, when told a neighbor had threatened to trap my cat and dump it in the country, nicely asked if I wanted a police officer to talk to this man, meaning warn him not to threaten me or my cats.

On the other hand, a lady who lives nearby was told by the Albany police and the county DA’s office that someone can trap your cat if the cat steps on that person’s property. The trapper is supposed to contact the police, though, rather than dump the cat.

Yeah, right: turning cat over to police is what the trapper had in mind (ha!), and the police, if contacted, have so much free time that they are in the business of getting trapped cats back to their owners. I don’t think so.

Those who are religious, remember, cats are God’s creatures. Those who aren’t religious, remember, all living things have a place on this earth.

Mary Brock, Albany