Letters to the Editor for Sunday, September 6, 2009

Paranoid rantings aren’t civil discussion
My 86-year-old mother, my husband and I attended Rep. Tom Perriello’s town hall meeting in Rustburg. We were among only a handful of people who actually came to listen and obtain accurate information about pending health care reform.

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They seem to operate in a closed community of misinformation and paranoia, feeding on one another and the distortions of right-wing rabble rousers on radio, television and the Internet. Everyone is entitled to his opinion, but those of us who voted the Democratic ticket and won are also entitled to get what we worked for — some relief from the high rates and unfair practices of insurance companies.

Sadly, many of the speakers criticizing government involvement in health care were seniors who benefit from the services of Social Security and Medicare. One elderly speaker was menacingly waving a cane that, more than likely, was paid for by a government program. Other seniors were screaming that the government shouldn’t have access to their bank information. I wonder how many of them have their Social Security checks deposited directly into their accounts. Do they have any clue about how that works?

The really scary speakers ranted about how “patriots” (the ones with guns) would have to take matters into their own hands if nothing else works. These people are no better than the Taliban or other terrorists who cannot accept the results of a democratic election. History teaches us that the ill-informed can be dangerous. They throw around terms like “Nazi,” “socialist” and “communist” with no idea of what these words actually mean, themselves acting like the Nazis they claim to despise.

Attending this meeting was an eye-opener.

All reasonable people out there, whether or not they support health care reform, must speak up. Republicans should disavow any connection with these extremists, as they have so far failed to do. These people are as harmful to the Republican Party as they are to Democrats.

As Americans we can work together amicably for solutions to the problems we face. We cannot let these paranoid, dangerous extremists dominate the debate. If they ever get any real foothold in American politics, remember, they are the ones with the guns.

In spite of all their rantings about “King Obama” or “Obama the Antichrist,” or the “Black Panther” — all these terms were actually used last night — these people would be more than happy to set themselves up in positions of power if given half a chance. If they were “king,” their brand of tyranny and hatred would be forced on the rest of us, and we would be no better off than the people in Afghanistan, Iraq or even Nazi Germany. Undercurrents of racism, homosexual bashing and fear of immigrants (legal and illegal) clearly surfaced last night.

Anyone who is as frightened about this as I am should join the debate as quickly as possible. I sincerely hope it isn’t too late.
NANCY TYREE
Madison Heights

Old college papers
Democrat Creigh Deeds gave it a good shot. He tried to gain some traction in his faltering bid for governor by dredging up a two-decades-old collegiate thesis written by Republican Bob McDonald.

While this attempt to paint McDonald as someone who is out of touch has failed miserably, it did succeed in doing one thing. It succeeded in reminding us all that while we can read a thesis written by a gubernatorial candidate, we are not allowed to read any of the works written by our current president during his college years. One can only wonder what President Barack Obama is hiding.
STEVEN SHOCKLEY
Lynchburg

Open minds
To those parents who don’t want their schoolchildren to hear President Barack Obama speak, I have this to say: For the entire eight years of the Bush presidency, you blindly accepted every word your president said without ever questioning any of it.

Bush said “Saddam Hussein has WMD’s” — he didn’t, but your president said it and you blindly accepted it because “He’s our president.” Time and again, totally unbelievable things were said by the Bush White House with blind acceptance by a vocal and presumably large segment of our Republican citizenry because “He’s our president.”

Now, when your president wants to speak to schoolchildren nationwide, to encourage them to study hard and stay in school, suddenly what? He’s not “your president”? Are there really only two choices here: either blind acceptance of what your government says without question or complete refusal to listen at all? Is that really what you want to teach your children? Is that really what you believe?

If it is, God help this nation. We were founded on the belief that everyone has a right to his ideas and ideals, but we find ourselves in the grip of fools who will brook no voice but their own. God help us all.
LIB ELDER
Pamplin