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We welcome letters. Please include your full name,
address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256,
Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com.
POWERFUL AND HEARTFELT STORY
I am a regular reader of Illinois
Times, and I would like to comment on
“The King and I,” by Carol Manley, which appeared in your Dec.
21 issue. Rarely have I ever read anything in your paper that
struck a responsive chord in me like this two-page article. This
woman’s life could potentially be as uplifting as It’s a Wonderful Life, if her
story is ever told. The way and the style in which she expresses herself
are very powerful and heartfelt. As to her wondering “if she is going to be a
good mother or not,” there is no question — one can tell that,
in the way she writes. Anyone who knows her should be proud. In fact, I am
not a professional writer or critic, but she is up there with the best of
them. Keep publishing pieces like this, and you will never
need to be concerned about your circulation. Stephen F. Estill New Holland
MAZRIM’S BOOK A TREASURE
Joseph Craig recently wrote a review in your paper of
Robert Mazrim’s new book, The Sangamo
Frontier: History and Archeology in the Shadow of Lincoln [“Scratching the surface,” Dec. 28]. I found
the review to be very disappointing, as I had recently read the book and
found it to be a wonderful and interesting read. Unlike Mr. Craig, I had no
difficulty following the copy and matching it to the pictures. Robert
Mazrim has a gift for taking a subject that in other hands could be dry and
clinical and making it come to life. It is my hope that this review doesn’t stop
anyone from reading this wonderful book. Robert Mazrim is a gifted writer
and archaeologist who has done some major and important work in his field.
I highly recommend this book.
Judy
Lott
Springfield
STOP INDULGING BAD BEHAVIORS
Let’s just keep blaming everything on something
or somebody else [“Our bad habits: Why, oh, why?” Dec. 28]. Why
not start being honest with yourself. The hard cold truth is “I
continue my bad habits because I choose to.”
The underlying cause of why we don’t stop
indulging in poor behaviors is the way you process the “input”
from your history, society, or wherever the stimulus came from — not from the event itself.
Basically they are excuses to act the way you want to and feel justified in
your actions. Something caused me to be this way. Wrong! We won’t
stop bad habits because of the routes to pleasure are being reinforced each
time we do it. (Even if it is wrong.) As John Dryden said, “We first
make our habits, then our habits make us.”
The study by Dr. Cindy Jardine, which was referenced
in the article, had found that the need to be socially accepted and
“plain old human defiance” were two main reasons for keeping up
bad habits. There are no reasons why you absolutely have to put something
in your body to be socially accepted. You choose to put yourself into
situations that would require you to adjust to your environment. When you are defiant, you are making a poor choice.
We can find a million and one reasons to drink or do other ill things to
our body. It is not “underlying issues” but rather poor
decision-making skills that is the problem. You don’t need to fully
understand anyone to know why they drink or do other things — they
have a choice! Also, we will give up risky behavior without knowing the
psychology behind our actions if you receive more pain than pleasure from
that behavior.
Jim Rickman Springfield
TURN THAT FROWN UPSIDE DOWN
I can’t disagree with most of the article,
“Alone in a crowd” [R.L. Nave, Jan. 4]. Attitude can be a
problem. I know of a Springfield dance that more people from Decatur and
Bloomington attend than people from Springfield. But please don’t go over the top in running
Springfield down. It’s not too late for a New Year’s resolution
to have a positive attitude — starting now! Mel Davis
Springfield
LIBERALS SPEW PARTISAN GARBAGE
Anne Logue claims that President George W. Bush
“violated international law, plunged our nation into tremendous debt
with tax breaks, and raped an entire country of its dignity”
[“Letters,” Jan. 4]. Like most liberal rants, this is long on accusation
and short on proof. The only thing in her screed that could have been an
impeachable offense would have been her claim of the president violating
international law. If the president had actually violated international
law, he would have been held accountable. Republicans don’t tend to
rally around lawbreakers within their ranks like Democrats did with
President Bill Clinton. As they did with Richard Nixon, Republicans would
have made President Bush resign or face impeachment. Simply put, if President Bush had acted illegally in
violation of international or domestic law, even a Republican Congress
would have impeached him. It’s a shame we can’t say the
Democrats police their own ranks. Instead of going after real criminals in
their ranks, they rally around them while pointing fingers at Republicans. Partisan garbage is all we get from liberals, along
with the regular lies, deceit, accusations without proof, and propaganda
they continuously spew in these pages and in the liberal media.
Kevin Johnson
Chatham
I COMPARE WELL TO PRESIDENT BUSH
Having read Keith Housewright’s interpretation
of my “Letter to Laura” [“Letters,” Jan. 4], one
can only surmise that they grow some really great weed down at St. Jacob
— or someone has a definite problem.
Nonetheless, had Mr. Housewright responded seriously
to my letter, I might not be writing this one. Accusing me of sour grapes
concerning the 2004 presidential election could not be further from the
truth. In fact, as many people can attest, it would not have bothered me
terribly had George W. Bush been allowed to run unopposed — at least
that way he would have been unable to pass his mistakes and misjudgments on
to a successor. You see, George W. has never been held accountable for his
actions during much of his adult life, and many of us think that’s
wrong. My critic then questions my success in life without
knowing me. Isn’t it somewhat unfair to compare the success of those
born with and those born without the benefit of a silver spoon? Just to
show you that I’m a sporting soul, I’ll give it a shot anyway. During my lifetime I have owned and operated several
successful businesses, none of which ended in failure or bankruptcy —
not so for George W. In my desk is an honorable military discharge, my
DD214 is complete, and my attendance record is unquestioned — not so
for George W. Never in my life have I ever been arrested by a
law-enforcement authority — not so for George W. No DUIs ever on the driving record of this
60-year-old — not so for George W. We have two children who are both gainfully employed
and contribute to society — not so for George W. Oh well, because success is a relative thing anyway,
as a matter of bipartisanship let’s all give our president the
benefit of the doubt. If you’ll recall, Keith, the actual subject I
addressed originally was the upcoming “surge” of troops in
Iraq. It looks like we’re going to need some fresh boots on the
ground over there. I checked, and recruiters are accepting nonveterans up
to age 42. Certain veterans well over that age who possess critical skills
are generally welcomed. Both must be drug-free. It’s just a thought. John Lambert
Springfield
FLASHBACK TO LBJ Each time I hear one of the Bush White House team
mention the possibility of a “surge” of additional troops being
sent to Iraq, I’m reminded of lines from a Vietnam-era protest song:
Lyndon Johnson told the nation,
”Have no fear
of escalation.
I am trying everyone to please.
Though it
isn’t really war,
We’re sending 50,000 more
To help
save Vietnam from Vietnamese.”
Dan McGuire Bensenville
SOME THINGS HAVEN’T CHANGED More than 3,000 Americans have been killed in Iraq,
and George W. Bush is still a liar. Steve Denton Leland Grove
CORRECTION
Two African-Americans, Kirk Robinson and Harvey
Davis, served as Springfield chief of police. A recent story was incorrect
[R.L. Nave, “Alone in a crowd,” Jan. 4]. Illinois Times regrets the
error.
This article appears in Jan 4-10, 2007.
