Letters to the Editor for Thursday, March 25, 2010

GOP masters of the politics of fear
Immediately following the historic action of the House of Representatives to pass health care reform this past Sunday night, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Sixth District, sent out a statement of the reasons he opposed HR 3590. In it, he accused the Democrats of “... complete and total disregard for the will of the American people ...” for passing the legislation.

As a former Republican and a tax-paying, voting resident of the Sixth District, I find this particularly offensive and elitist. What an absolute fallacy! Polls show the public evenly divided, and much of the opposition has been fanned by overpaid talk show hosts urged on by the Republicans’ consistent and blatant manipulation of facts. (Apparently those in favor aren’t “real” Americans in their view.)

To label this as a government takeover of the health care system is laughable, to say the least. My reading of both the bill and the reconciliation package indicates the government is trying to place control back in favor of the insured public and lessen that of the insurers. The truth is the GOP recommended similar legislation during the previous decade. The overwhelming lobbying power of the insurance and health care industries of course killed all such efforts, as it has for several decades since a Republican Congress empowered them some 60 years ago.

It would seem that Goodlatte and the rest of the GOP and its followers need a little lesson in socioeconomics. Under a socialistic regime, one would see total government control of the entire system — all health care providers would be totally under government control. On the other hand, a legislative mandate on behalf of the people to guide funding, process and outcomes is as democratic as it can get.

In view of their unyielding opposition to this legislation, it is clear that Republicans have but one intent: to regain power in Washington at all cost. This divisive strategy will certainly galvanize those on the extreme right, who will make sure that some who voted for this bill will pay a price for their heroic action. But what price will our country pay for such a strategy? As well, what price will the Republicans pay?

A clear democratic majority elected this president and placed the Democrats in a position to accomplish this much-needed action.

There are undoubtedly many who support the GOP view, but I can assure you, there will be many of us in the middle and on the left who will step forward and fight just as hard to keep our country out of their hands. I may be a senior citizen, but as long as there is some fight left in these old bones, that is a battle I am willing to take on.

Nov. 2, here we come.
LAWRENCE H. SYMONDS
Lynchburg

Live and let live
In a March 17 letter to the editor in The News & Advance, the author stated his opposition to homosexuality and belief that everyone must agree to persecute homosexuals. I disagree. I don’t believe that we have the right to decide for others what they must do.

You are certainly entitled to believe that homosexuality is wrong and even that you think that your religious documents make it a sin. But I don’t believe that you have a right to tell anyone else that they must believe as you do. You don’t have the right to tell me that I cannot wear a yellow shirt or even a green dress if I wish to do so. If I decide to marry my wife and she agrees that is clearly wonderful. If I decide to marry another woman or man and they agree, that is my and their choice, not yours.

It was once thought to be a good idea to discriminate against women and blacks. I hope that we now agree that this was wrong. We should agree that is is never a good thing to discriminate against anyone who doesn’t believe the way we do.
JOHN R. McCLENON
Lynchburg