Letters to the Editor for Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Surprise: The Republic survived the speech
For days, we heard from the far right — in newspapers, on the Internet and on radio and TV — that President Barack Obama’s back-to-school speech to students was an attempt to indoctrinate children with a socialist agenda. As preposterous as that claim was, many ill-informed Americans bought into it, ranted about how the president should stay out of our schools (a bizarre notion in itself) and went so far as to challenge schools not to show the speech. As wiser heads prevailed and the vast majority of schools decided to show it, many parents kept their children at home or requested that they be excused from viewing it.

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Regrettably, there is an element in our society that seeks to discredit President Obama at every opportunity, going well beyond reasonable criticism of certain beliefs, goals and actions. What they are engaged in is fear-mongering, pure and simple.

And, sadly, there are people naive enough or paranoid enough to accept and embrace the utter nonsense (e.g., Obama is not a U.S. citizen, Obama is a Muslim, Obama is a closet terrorist, Obama is a socialist/communist/

fascist/Nazi) that spews from the hate-filled mouths of the Rush Limbaughs and Glenn Becks out there craving attention.

We can only hope that from this latest “much ado about nothing” a lesson or two can be learned about staying informed, getting the facts and tuning out the voices of cynicism, division and pure hatred.
BILL BLACKWELL
Lynchburg

Selective outrage
When some not-so-great Americans loudly imagined their president teaching school children socialism, they expressed their outrage in an outrageous manner.

They were also inconsistent, unless with the same vitriol they went after President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush for giving virtually the same pep talk. The suggested student assignment about “helping President Obama” did need changing — as President Bush’s similar request for students to write essays about how they could “help us” should have been.

Critics could have offered that critique, however, without taking to the barricades. The president taught a good lesson about studying and staying in school.

The outrageously expressed outrage taught us only that anything, however innocent, can be used as an occasion for throwing political mud.
ROBERT D. MORRISON Jr.
Lynchburg

Sticks and stones
In response to Nancy Tyree’s Sept. 6 letter, one can only wonder how long it will be before we don’t have to read or listen to despicable name calling to identify those individuals who oppose the health care bill?

To identify those attending Rep. Tom Perriello’s town hall meeting as “anarchists, racists and budding domestic terrorists” is indicative of someone who, while insisting upon tolerance, is herself intolerant of opposing viewpoints.

Further, these are not extremists but simply people who are very concerned about government intrusion into a very private part of their lives; they are quite tired of being misled about the extent and consequences, intended or not, of this health care proposal.

In addition, constantly blaming the “right-wing rabble rousers on radio and television” indicates that you don’t give any of these people credit for having read the bill themselves. There is just cause for concern because of the interjection of elements into this bill that have nothing to do with health care or the costs thereof as far as one can tell. We need more specifics, less generalities and much more time to get it right.
GRACE BEAUREGARD
Lynchburg