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YOU NEED TO GET OUT MORE
OK, Danny Faulkner, we both know that you need more
than one block area of nice houses [“Letters,” June 8]. You
need to come out of your house and take a walk around your neighborhood
— and not allow what you see in your neighborhood. The only way a
neighborhood can turned around is if you have concerned neighbors. I could
care less if Pillsbury is a mill or a factory. All I know now is, it is
shut down. Quit living in the past and [help] clean up that neighborhood. LaDonna McClanahan Springfield
WHO SPEAKS FOR FREEDOM?
I’m 65 years old and a four-year veteran.
“Sarge” used to tell us that “freedom is more precious
than life itself,” but that was then, when men were men. The current
self-serving generation doesn’t believe in that. Because no one in
leadership speaks up for freedom anymore, we will continue to have more and
more restrictive laws until we are no different than a communist country. Glenn Stevens Cantrall
MASQUERADING AS ANALTERNATIVE
I read with interest and slight amusement the
announcement that Illinois Times staffers were finalists for awards from an association of
“alternative” newspapers [“Cap City,” June 8]. As a
regular reader, I was familiar with the fine contributions recognized for
awards. However, I can’t understand how a mainstream publication like
Illinois Times could
qualify as an alternative newspaper. I grew up in the ’60s, when it
really meant something (different) to be called alternative. No offense
folks, but to paraphrase a famous debate line from Lloyd Bentsen to Dan
Quayle, “I knew alternative newspapers, and you’re no
alternative newspaper.”
Michael J. Hart Springfield
TO MAKE A GREAT NATION
It was with great loathing and disgust that I read
the commentary by Rod Helle defending Ward Churchill [“A double
standard,” June 8]. I felt I had to say what I know of Ward Churchill
and to fill in some information that Mr. Helle left out. First of all, Churchill did say that everybody who
died on Sept 11, 2001, deserved it and got what was coming to them. His
label of “little Eichmanns” was applied to every individual. It
was only after he received a lot of heat (and probably some prodding from
aides and colleagues) did he recant and say that the label only applied to
certain people. He’s still not repentant for applying that label, and
that I find very repugnant. Even if his label only applied to stockbrokers
and bankers, it’s still inexcusable. More than 3,000 human beings
died that day. It doesn’t matter if they were bankers, janitors, or
airline passengers. They were all people with families and loved ones, and
not a single one of them did anything to deserve being murdered that day.
Not one. If “feeding the capitalist machine” is a crime, then
all of us — even Mr. Churchill and Mr. Helle — are guilty. We
“feed the machine” every time we buy goods and services or go
to work. But, you see, living is not a crime. Working at a job in a
capitalist society is not a crime. Being an American is not a crime. But
those who hijacked the planes thought so, and they acted as judge, jury,
and executioner. Don’t be fooled by what the leftists tell you. We
were not attacked because of the “genocidal world order” that
Americans have created. We were attacked by cultural imperialists, yes, the
same label that others put on Americans. The difference is that these
cultural imperialists don’t use the media or merchandise to spread
their culture. They spread it by hijacking planes, beheading civilians, and
threatening violence to anybody who misrepresents their culture or causes
the slightest offense. We were attacked because we were supposed to be
afraid and give up our culture and way of life. We were attacked because we
don’t accept the terrorists’ view of a world order. Equating the 9/11 victims with Nazis was not the only
vicious statement made by Churchill. He’s also stated that a
conscientious objector to the war who happens to be in the military should
not go AWOL. Rather, he suggests that they kill their superior officers in
the field, for “fragging your superior officers will have a much more
impactful effect.” That’s an exact quote as I heard it from one
of his taped speeches. Again, Churchill states that certain people deserve
to die. According to him, murder is justifiable if it is used to make a
statement. This is the type of message being taught in our schools and
universities — and needs to be stopped cold. Churchill is not some innocent victim here.
Plagiarizing academic works is not the only charge leveled against him.
He’s also sold artworks that are clearly copies of another
person’s art. I’ve seen two paintings, one by Churchill and one
older work done by another artist. Churchill clearly copied from the other
artist but sold it as original artwork. Even his tenure as a professor is
based on a lie. He made it known that he is descended from Native
Americans. That earned him minority status, so he obtained his position
through affirmative action, meaning, he got his job for being a Native
American and was selected over possibly more qualified white Americans.
After that, it’s been revealed that he doesn’t have Native
American blood in him whatsoever. He is affiliated with a local tribe, but
that affiliation is purely honorary. Lying about your heritage to achieve
status is apparently no problem with Churchill. Ward Churchill and his defenders are nothing more
than America-bashers. He’s not questioning authority and causing you
to think — he’s just spreading hate. He’s not cutting
through American myths; he’s just creating new ones. Sure, you can
listen to him. Free speech protects what he says, but I’m here to
tell you he has nothing truthful or honorable to say. America doesn’t
have a spotless history, but we’re not the genocidal maniacs that
Churchill and Rod Helle would have you believe. Yes, we’ve had
slavery in our past, but there are a number of countries that still
practice it today. We’ve treated the natives of this land unfairly,
but there are even more heinous acts of genocide being perpetrated today.
We consume the natural resources of this planet, but other nations do it to
a greater extent in many ways. We do support democracy and freedom in other
countries, despite what Mr. Helle says. We need to stop listening to people like Churchill.
We need to stop beating ourselves up for our nation’s past and look
toward the future. We need to stop focusing on the negative in ourselves
and see the true wrongs that are being done in this world. We need to
recognize the threats to peace and take care of them as necessary. We need
to be diligent in preventing another 9/11 from ever happening again. That
is how we can achieve peace and make this country as great as it’s
ever been, if not greater. Steve Marley Springfield
I WILL NOT BE FOOLED AGAIN
The AFL-CIO’s recent endorsement of Gov. Rod
Blagojevich, because he supports labor in Illinois, was the biggest joke I
have heard of in a while. I’m a member of AFSCME and a state worker,
and I have seen up close and personal what this governor has done for
labor. He has laid off union employees, expecting one to do the work of
three. He laid off and hired in lots — and I mean “lots”
— of needed administration (another joke), at unheard-of salaries.
Has anyone asked him what he would do with the employees currently working
for the state lottery once he sells it? Apparently he has never thought or
cared about those families. This man never stays in the governor’s
mansion when coming to Springfield but at a hotel. Why is that? If I
belonged to this union, their endorsement would cause me to quit! People of
Illinois, please wake up and let this man know come November, in no
uncertain terms, two things he has failed to realize: The state of Illinois
is far more than just Chicago, and we are not for sale! This comes from a
person who voted for this man, but, like the song says, I will not get
fooled again! Anna Page Divernon
This article appears in Jun 22-28, 2006.
