Letters to the Editor for Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Don’t saddle taxpayers with civic center
Well, the civic center question has become a topic of interest for the area again. This time the proposal was initiated by Liberty University. Apparently the approach this time is for regional participation in such a venture.

News & Advance columnist Darrell Laurant, in his Jan. 31 column, waded in with the fact that Glen Falls, N.Y., has a civic center that apparently does well. He doesn’t mention if it requires a subsidy or not. If it doesn’t, it must have escaped the Lynchburg City Manager Kimball Payne’s search for civic centers that are feasible without some sort of subsidy. According to reports, his search only found two in the U.S.

I have written to my Bedford County supervisor to oppose any such deal that requires any subsidy from Bedford County. I am opposed in principle to any subsidized civic center, but particularly in these economic conditions, a civic center that requires taxpayer support should be way down the list of priorities for this region.

I am not a Liberty basher and concede they have been an asset to the local economy. However, if they can manage to acquire funding for a Snowflex recreation area and a shopping center, then I suggest that they initiate a fundraising campaign to fund a civic center to meet their needs. If a civic center can be built and be self supporting without a taxpayer subsidy, then have at it. The taxpayers should not be involved in such a venture. I urge all in the region to let your councilman or county supervisor know your feelings concerning this matter before it progresses too far.
JAMES L. RICHARDSON
Forest

History’s ‘what-ifs’
Letter writers frequently refer to the U.S. as a “Christian nation” or declare our “exceptionalism” — neither of which is true. Our heritage is as much the result of accident as it is of our own determination. Consider just a couple of the “what ifs” of history and think how fragile the outcomes were and what might have been.

After Muhammad’s establishment of Islam, it spread rapidly across North Africa resulting in the Moors ruling Spain for 700 years. In 1492, the Moors were finally defeated at Granada and ultimately driven out. What if the Moors had won at Granada?

Soon thereafter Spain began its exploration of the New World which included both North and South America. If the Muslims rather than Christians had been in control, Islam, not Christianity, may have dominated the Americas. The Spanish influence from Mexico south is still recognizable today. Our largest minority will soon be Hispanic. While my pure speculation may be of interest only to those who recognize the fragility and accidental character of history, it does suggest that we ought not to be so smug and certain of the reasons that provide the foundation of our characteristics today. We are as much an accident of history as any other nation and, as such, should accept that our destiny might have been much different. The Middle East is the result of the English drawing lines in the sand after World War I, and we are still living with that disaster.

The U.S. is important today as much because of the rich resources we inherited and the two oceans and two friendly countries on our borders as for our own efforts. While it’s true we are predominately Christian by numbers, thankfully we are a secular nation by our Constitution. Could it have been different if the Muslims had won at Granada? Sure. Most U.S. Christians might have been Muslim just like they would have been Hindu if born in India. Imagine a Muslim Liberty University.

My point, of course, is that we are the product of our history as fragile as that is, and a more worldly view, as opposed to an ethnocentric myopia, would serve us well as we participate in a multicultural world.

If people dislike the U.S., it’s not because of our wealth, but because of our attitudes and actions toward people of other nations.
DAVID McLOUGHLIN
Forest