Parts of our nation’s history should bring discomfort
We recently visited The Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Ala. One fascinating exhibit was a world map showing the individual slave ships on a time progression from 1600 to 1865.
The stories of cruelty and families broken apart by sales at the slave auctions were heart-wrenching. The politicians who want no mention of these experiences in school curricula would never want anyone to see this exhibit. We would and should feel discomfort, which is forbidden with new legislation in Florida and sought in other states.
But the really disturbing part is the period after the Civil War when Jim Crow laws were enacted. That culture existed when I was a young man in South Alabama. I saw the whites-only signs and never attended a class in a public high school or a public college with a Black person.
Culture is a hard thing to escape from. I moved away at 17. When returning, the old culture is still there.
JOHN SOUTHALL, ROSWELL
Mistake to rush toward clean energy using taxpayer funds
I do not understand the rush to convert from fossil fuels to clean energy. I can see this transformation happening over a number of years, but not overnight, as the Democrats are pushing for.
As for electric vehicles, the maximum range for most of these vehicles is limited. If someone is on a long trip, they will have to stop at a charging station (provided they find one) and it will take time to recharge the vehicle. In addition, replacement batteries are expensive.
Currently, wind and solar power are not cost-efficient. And it requires fossil fuels to build and install these wind machines, steel plants to construct them and diesel trucks to transport them. It has been proven that solar panels cannot store enough energy in areas with limited sunshine.
My biggest issue is using taxpayer funds to subsidize these ventures, whereas it should be market-driven and not supported by the government.
KEVIN COYLE, BETHLEHEM
