Letters to the editor for September 6, 2018

Found the problem

On the front page of the Aug. 31 issue of the Star-Banner was an article concerning the future of Oakcrest Elementary School. The article says everything that needs to be said about why the school’s performance has been so bad. The parents don’t seem to give a damn about what their kids learn ... or don’t learn in school. Without parental support, how can we expect the underpaid classroom teachers (i.e. the workers, not the watchers) to deliver kids who can read and write?

Jim Bispo, Ocala

Reactionary rhetoric

I strongly believe in our election process and have voted throughout my adult life. I learned the results are often personally disappointing, but the fact that the majority prevails is one of the underpinnings of our Republic.

That disappointment was felt last week when I awoke to learn that my preferred candidate for governor had been defeated. However, the sense of disappointment was quickly replaced by a sense of confusion. One of the prevailing candidates was broadly quoted as opining that it would be a mistake to let his opponent “monkey” things up. I have always thought the expression to “monkey things up” was a commonly used one, and one with a commonly understood meaning. However, given the furor, I thought I’d check.

I looked up the word “monkey” in my thesaurus. Sure enough, when used as a verb, as it was in the referenced quote, synonyms include “mess with,” “play with,” “fool with,” etc.

I realized that those accusing the candidate of racism apparently prefer to twist words to fit their political agenda, rather than engaging in mature debate about the economic direction that our state takes going forward, as was intended by the statement.

I did a little more research and discovered some surprising inconsistencies. On April 24, 2017, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer is quoted as saying, “Donald Trump threw a monkey wrench with the wall.” And in a speech on Sept. 4, 2008, none other than Barack Obama said, “Democrats have been known to monkey around with elections.” Is the verb “monkey” only deemed racist if he or she who uses it that way has different political views than our own?

I suggest that if we have any hope of shifting the discourse back towards civility this knee-jerk reactionary rhetoric must stop. Every one of us has the ability to initiate that change, and every one of us shares personal responsibility for doing it.

Truman Henson, Summerfield

The power of prayer

There was a very interesting article on Monday’s front page regarding prayer beginning each day at the Florida Hospital Ocala.

I do not understand why anyone would object to prayer starting the day, especially at a medical facility. Of all places prayer should be said. Why do you think Ben Carson’s surgeries were so successful? Prayer before each procedure.

Shirley Johnson, Ocala

State religion?

Robert Redford is famous for his career in the film industry, and less known as an environment activist. His views on religion are rarely seen in print:

“When somebody thinks God speaks to him, you’ve got trouble ... Is there an afterlife? As far as I know, this is it. It’s all we’ve got. You take your opportunities and you go for it.”

Sadly, there is a group in our U.S. House of Representatives that believes God talks to them and are “going for it”: a religious blitz on our government. They call themselves the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation. They created Project Blitz, with the stated aim, “To protect the free exercise of traditional Judeo-Christian religious values and beliefs in the public square.”

Their Blitz manual provides model language for state legislators to pass bills that push Christian religious priorities, such as posting “In God We Trust” signs in public schools, along with Bible study classes, and allow faith-based child welfare agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

Dr. David Brockman of the Baker Institute For Public Policy at Rice University has said that Project Blitz is nothing less than “a covert campaign for conservative Christian dominion over law and public policy.”

Visit a Florida public school today and see an “In God We Trust” sign. Visit in the future and you might have to pass a 20-foot cross.

Leonard Kleps, Ocala