Letters
Letters to the editor
Highlands Today
Published: July 25, 2012
Killing not about gun lawsPublished: July 25, 2012
The horrible mass murder in Aurora, Colo., is a devastating tragedy for the families and the people of that town.
All Americans should pray for these folks, and as a nation, we should reach out to them in their time of need.
Unfortunately, there are heartless politicians who would rather use this horrible event to push their political agenda. Only hours after the news began reporting this story, you had ghoulish people like Sen. Frank Lautenberg and New York Mayor Bloomberg attacking the Second Amendment and gun rights.
Instead of directing the blame at the alleged killer and trying to comfort the families of the victims, they would rather try to score political points.
It should go without saying that the alleged killer, James Holmes, is responsible for this killing spree. Sadly, these politicians have no problem standing over the bodies and trying to tell you differently.
It is a comfort to know most Americans have more heart and know better than to listen to these gibbering elected gasbags.
Dana B. Orr
Avon Park
Patriotism equals sacrifice
In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country ... "
He went on to set a standard for American patriotism, a standard that recognizes that true patriotism involves sacrifice.
In our current malaise, we have come to mistake flag wavers and posturers as patriots, not recognizing the need for sacrifice on behalf of the country as the true mark of patriotism. Those who have served in the military understand the essence of that sacrifice.
In our politics today, the top 1 percent of our country — those who have accumulated most of the wealth in our country — has resisted an attempt to increase their tax obligations in order to help the economy.
Sacrifice, a mere increase in financial contributions to the government in the current crisis, seems too much of an imposition; an unreasonable sacrifice, despite the needs of the country and the unquestionable ability of the wealthy to pay.
Today's "summer soldiers and sunshine patriots" drape themselves with the mantle of "job creators" while they invest offshore and pursue profit at the expense of all else.
Randy Ludacer
Lake Placid