HEALTH CARE
It’s sad to think we’d vote for government handout
The letter about the lack of health insurance for college students should be a wake-up call to all freedom-loving Americans (“College students must make their voices heard,” “Readers write,” Opinion, July 30). If this is the future of our republic, then we should all be in mourning.
The writer is concerned because some students aren’t able to play sports due to lack of health insurance, and rejoices in the passage of the health reform bill. She states that in order to solve this “crisis,” you must vote! What does she expect to happen? Who does she expect to pay for her health insurance? How about researching what’s already available to you, and buying an insurance policy yourself?
My daughters (who are both in their 20s) have insurance for a little over $100 a month. Buying insurance while you are young and healthy is fairly cheap. Whatever happened to taking care of your own needs? Now we are supposed to vote to have government take care of us? That’s very sad.
Peggy Kendall, Atlanta
SOCIETY
If we remain silent, evil has a chance to prevail
As a clergyman, I pray for the day when racial prejudice, disparity and inequity are eliminated. Regrettably, that day has not arrived — even though a black man is president.
Ultimately, the Shirley Sherrod saga is a stark reminder of this sad fact. That she could be forced to resign by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack because a conservative blogger released a selectively edited video is frightening.
In fact, Sherrod’s speech was specifically focused on how she overcame her own prejudices against whites, and later helped the Spooners, who then lauded Sherrod’s work on their behalf.
The real shame of this situation is that due to fear and cowardice, Sherrod was not accorded the American legal birthright of presumed innocent until proven guilty; nor benefit of the God-given scriptural commandant that thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Instead, she was vilified — because all it took for evil to prevail was for good men to remain silent.
William Phillips DeVeaux, Presiding Bishop, Sixth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church/Georgia
POLITICS
Republicans obviously want president to fail
With the disappointing recent news that yet another jobs-creating bill has been stalled in Congress by Republican filibuster, the message should be clear: Republicans want President Barack Obama to fail — and they are willing to sacrifice our jobs to do it.
Sybil Thomas, Whitesburg
TAXES
Those with big money get all the breaks
Here’s what to expect from Gov. Sonny Perdue’s Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness: cuts on taxes on the wealthy, and creation of more tax breaks for big corporations.
Now that I’ve done all their work for them, how about we take the money earmarked for this Council on Foregone Conclusions, and put it back in the state coffers? We have much better things to spend it on right now.
Tom Rogers, Atlanta