This is Viewpoints for Monday, October 9, 2017

I love this country

So many people have spoken and commented about the disrespect shown our great nation by anyone at an athletic/sporting event and I could not agree more. I believe I have a solution. I possess no tickets or any affiliation whatsoever with any team and I am suggesting this for those who possess same. You have a contract, a ticket, which “does not include the display of any of the individual players or team owners thoughts on social in-justice, beliefs, thoughts, et al. They are to provide entertainment. Period. If they elect to provide anything other, they are in breach of contract. If they want to protest, do it on their dime, not on the ticket holder’s time, who may or may not agree with their position.

If the people who felt this way were to file a class action lawsuit against the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball et al, I can assure you, things would change dramatically in a matter of days. Sue these idiots who govern the leagues and all hell would break loose.

Revoke their anti-trust exemption and watch them cry because their gravy train, footed by ticket holders and taxpayers shall be no more. Enough of the disrespect. It makes me sick.

So, I challenge Sens. David Perdue, Johnny Isakson and Rep. Austin Scott to get off their sitting down place and help stop this madness.

Panicked

God makes clear that we be honest and face head on our fears and challenges, however painful, in order to be over comers. Opposite that is to cover up or hide, allowing our problems to only get worse.

In this national discussion of police brutality, I must express what I witnessed in 1996 in a familiar, medium sized city here in America. I was driving through an area, hoping to find a shortcut, when I suddenly came upon a dead-end clearing. What I witnessed there was what must have been at least six police cars and 10 or more uniformed men brutally beating what was clearly one lone person. Panicked, I abruptly reversed my car and fled for my own safety.

I know that all police are not brutalizers. Most are more than admirable. But something must be done to stop this horror from happening. Individuals in our justice system must be held accountable, or it will only continue to grow.

Concert snipers?

First, my heart felt sympathy to the victims in Las Vegas. While we look for reasons why this happened, we must find better methods to defend against those with mental illness, drug addictions and other issues because these crazies will always be with us. These deranged people always find a weakness to attack the 99.9 percent of our population who are law abiding. In this case, firearms were banned from the concert, but the shooter attacked from a high rise hotel. The shooter had no regard for guns laws or human life. My question is, “where were the police snipers?”

Had a police sniper been within a thousand yards, he could have seen the gun fire and neutralized the shooter very quickly and saved many lives. The concert promoters should be required to provide reimbursement to local police departments for their extra manpower requirements. Adding one dollar to every ticket for this purpose would be money very well spent. This is not to criticize our fine police officers, but lets concentrate on the bad guys and develop better security techniques to deal with both domestic and foreign terrorists. God bless America.

Parking at Robins

Parking at Robins Air Force Base has become a problem. You have inconsiderate people, who are not handicapped parking in spaces that have been designated for those with a disability. The handicapped are now having to park in other areas where there are no designated parking spaces for them making driving in those area more hazardous.

The base talked about safety, but you know they don’t care. If they cared about the handicapped people, they would do something about it. I know they spend over $20,000 of our tax dollars, painting these spots for the handicapped to be closer to their work areas. Once in a blue moon you might be issued a ticket, but nothing happen to the person. I heard the parking manager was told by base managers to quit issuing tickets because they were writing so many.

This is government, and we have people on base who do not care and are so lazy they couldn’t care less about their fellow man. If you are illegally parking in handicapped spaces, I hope one day you need a parking space and can’t find one and you have to walk the long distance some handicapped people have to walk.

I hope the base will do something because if nothing is done, I will up channel my complaint to the government agency in Washington, D.C. that handles this and I know BRAC would love to hear what is happening at Robins.

Legislative rope-a-dope

D.A. King is absolutely correct when he says any credible immigration legislation must include funding appropriations, “Reality on amnesty for DACA recipients – illegal aliens are not Americans” (Oct. 3).

It is a common practice of members of Congress to support bills they know are popular with their constituencies in order to appease them, but they do so only because they know that the necessary funding will never become available. Their support for such legislation is the epitome of deceit and betrayal.

True patriots

During the Vietnam War, much was said and written about the relationship between patriotism and dissent. Failure to criticize government policy when it is warranted serves our country poorly.

In his 1966 book, “The Arrogance of Power,” the late Arkansas Sen. J. William Fulbright wrote, “In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith ... To criticize one’s country is to do it a service ... Criticism, in short, is more than a right; it is an act of patriotism — a higher form of patriotism, I believe, than the familiar rituals and national adulation ... My question is whether America can overcome the fatal arrogance of power.”

Even though Fulbright wrote his book during the controversial Vietnam War, his comments on patriotism and dissent apply today and will in the future.

This story was originally published October 8, 2017 at 9:01 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Monday, October 9, 2017."