Readers Write 10/11

POLITICS

President Barack Obama is so insistent that he is the first “African American president” that he has lost sight of what he has promised.

Get on with the show. America needs to be strong, and we are looking to our leader — whatever race or color — to provide this. Whether you voted for him or not, he is the president, and America needs to be the strongest nation once again.

Marilyn Moore-Buice, Fayetteville

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Get involved, as any woman could be at risk

From high-powered executives, to grocery store clerks, to stay-at-home moms, every woman could be at risk. Intimate partner violence is widespread. An estimated 1.3 million women are physically assaulted by their intimate partners each year in the United States.

Partnership Against Domestic Violence and other local domestic violence programs are hosting events in observance of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This observance is a means for us to educate the public, raise awareness about services, highlight prevention and inspire action.

Why get involved? Because in 2008, there were 111 domestic-violence-related homicides in Georgia. There are several ways to get involved. Attend a local Domestic Violence Awareness Month event. Lead your church, synagogue, civic group, office or school in a supply drive for emergency shelters. Talk to your children about healthy relationships.

Whether or not you’ve experienced domestic violence, chances are that someone you know or love has been affected by this silent epidemic.

Cathy Willis Spraetz, Partnership Against Domestic Violence

HEALTH CARE

Laziness is why young are for reform? Not true

Jennifer Leigh’s “Younger generation often lazy, unmotivated” (Readers write, Sept. 30) states her reasoning why the younger generation supports health care reform, through accusations of laziness, lack of motivation and feelings of entitlement.

Perhaps Leigh doesn’t know many young people. I know hundreds. Many, like me, have accepted their personal responsibilities eagerly. We sacrifice like anyone else: for our communities, families and, ultimately, our country. And taxes are paid by everyone — even those 18 to 34. Many of our countrymen and women dying in war are ages 18 to 34. I think their families could tell you a bit about the sacrifice of their loved ones.

It is quite easy to discredit a group’s views through unfounded and insulting accusations. Let me assure you: No one ever gave us anything not overshadowed by the challenges of war, a recessed economy, debt-ridden governments, a soaring national debt and our current health care system. Perhaps Leigh can inform us as to whom we should address our thank-you note.

Adam Bowen, Atlanta

SOCIETY

Know what your kids read, listen to and watch

Entertainment remains a large influence in American culture. Society is a hierarchy and our kids, while at the bottom, have more access than ever to the best and worst behaviors on display.

Entertainment is a choice. Parents, please get involved, and know what your children are reading, listening to and watching. When they are of age to decide what is good for them, so be it. But be their influence before society takes over.

I fear my generation has already degraded communication to the point that we cannot speak or write without a computer. But as we all fill the airways and servers, let’s do so with the thoughtful script of young men and women with substance — not just regurgitated pop culture nonsense.

Ryan Townsend, Gainesville

POLITICS

Foolishness needs to die quickly, and I’m not lyin’

U.S. Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) need to stop the juvenile behavior and work on agreeable solutions. We all know the differences between the two parties, but what we’ve yet to see are the solutions for the issues facing this country.

Come on, representatives. Go back to grade school if you want to play. You were elected to do a job. Now, do it.

Mary Edwards, Lawrenceville

HEALTH CARE

Not all employer plans affordable for workers

I have a question for those who think a public health care option is going to hurt their employer-provided plan. How good is your plan, and how much is it costing you? I guess that’s two questions.

I have been continuously employed since I was 18 years old. I have had only one career — IT, which offers me a better-than-average salary. The policy I have with my current employer is not as good as it used to be, and the deductibles are higher. I am single, with no children. I could not afford my company-sponsored plan if I did have children. I delayed surgery because I didn’t think I could afford the down time. Now I delay because I can’t afford the co-pay.

Maybe forcing insurance companies to charge for actual costs of service instead of “what the market will bear” wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Krystine Williams, Roswell