PUBLIC LANDS
Let’s properly maintain parks we already have
As a former national park ranger, I read with interest “Let’s expand on ‘America’s best idea’ ” (Opinion, Sept. 30). Although I agree with the desire to protect and preserve more of America’s vanishing wild spaces and that national parks generate considerably more than they cost taxpayers, I am concerned that by chronically underfunding the National Park Service, we put the nation’s “crown jewels” and visitors in peril.
By some reputable accounts, the National Park Service’s annual operating budget is underfunded by millions. There are billions in deferred maintenance needs on the books of the National Park Service’s units. This means potholed roads, tattered buildings and an unkempt appearance. Some of the national treasures and artifacts are deteriorating because funds aren’t available for proper conservation, storage or display.
The lack of visible rangers patrolling the parks is also alarming, and results in a less meaningful visitor experience, potential for injuries and accidental or flagrant damage to the plants, animals and geology the parks were established to protect. Rather than expanding, let’s “preserve and protect” what we have — then think about adding new areas, and the money to operate and maintain them.
Douglas Cardinal, Johns Creek
ENERGY
Efficiency, planning now will pay off in the future
Can we be remembered as the “greatest generation” of wise people who made the painful but necessary changes in how we generate and use energy to save our world for future generations?
We have to think beyond today, five years or 50 years; have a vision and implement it now. The new, energy-efficient lifestyle we can create will be more rewarding than one might think. We must support the Obama administration’s efforts to get us moving on this now.
Jane Woods Alexander, Atlanta
POLITICS
Liberals don’t live up to their moniker
I find it amusing that many of your longtime liberal readers write in, protesting the inclusion of conservative columnists on your editorial pages. Liberals have always been quick to point out that the definition of being liberal includes open-mindedness. Yet these people reject even the inclusion of other points of view for people to read and discuss. This only confirms my suspicion that the open minds of liberals have long been an illusion that only they can see. Alex Sloan, Gainesville
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Sex offenders shouldn’t be treated as lepers
Thousands of years ago, lepers in Israel were banished from the community. We still treat the “unclean” that way! The coverage of the sex offenders driven out of the tent community near Marietta (Metro, Sept. 30), and told to leave is a tragic commentary on how little we have improved. As a retired pastor in regular touch with a few of these men, I know they deserve better than that. Many made a single mistake within their immediate family only. Most are not dangerous, unclean beasts to despise. Has the Bible so many profess done so little to transform our value systems? Georgia’s treatment of sex offenders is barbaric.
Allen J. Swanson, Gainesville
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