Don’t judge soldier till facts are known
The swap of five enemy combatants from Guantanamo Bay for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy. The court of public opinion has already tried and convicted this man without looking at all of the facts.
President Obama did the right thing when he kept this operation secret. Any leak would have meant certain death for Bergdahl. This man is recovering in a hospital. Five years is a long time to be a POW. I don’t agree with “Time” magazine’s recent cover of Bergdahl. The headline, “Was he worth it?” is in bad taste. He is an American soldier. Of course he is worth it. With the war over in Afghanistan, those five enemy combatants would probably have been released within a year.
Critics on the Internet are trying to draw a parallel between Bergdahl and Sgt. Brody on Showtime’s popular series “Homeland.” This is ludicrous because “Homeland” is far-fetched fiction designed to draw as many viewers as possible. Bergdahl had a history of leaving his post and walking around (with) the locals. This is dangerous. Some of his comrades are busy calling him a deserter to any news agency who will listen. If military justice can’t prove he was a traitor, he should be left alone to go back to his family. I hope he fully recovers from his ordeal and successfully blends back into society once his military hitch is up.
WILLIAM McKEE JR., FLOWERY BRANCH
Ban tinted windows to improve safety
A suggestion to improve pedestrian safety: Outlaw automobile “tinted” windows. Several states have laws that require that a pedestrian or cyclist be able to see a driver. A California police officer was shot because he could not see the driver through tinted windows, so California now outlaws them. Any pedestrian or bike rider knows of the advantages of being able to view the drivers of oncoming cars.
DON GALLUP, POWDER SPRINGS
Where’s outrage on player, celeb pay?
During the past several months, major corporations held their annual stockholders meetings at which compensation for top executives was voted. Typically, there was the usual outcry about greed, overcompensation, unjustified raises.
Where is similar outcry about the compensation of pro sports athletes, TV and movie stars, and recording artists? I challenge anyone to Google “baseball salaries” and review the list of all players for the 30 Major League Baseball teams and crow again about the outrageous compensation for company executives. Those executives just manage billion-dollar enterprises that employ thousands and provide much-desired products and services — while paying the highest corporate taxes of any country in the world. The second group “entertains” us, suggesting the one is justified, while the other is not.
Personally, I think they are all overpaid; I’m not favoring one over the other. I just hate the hypocrisy that divides this country.
P.D. GOSSAGE, JOHNS CREEK
