Letters To The Editor

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Suggestions for a new century

Although we have to wait another year to start the next millennium, we don’t have to wait to start a new century. With that in mind the following suggestions may help:

Have one meal a day with the entire family present.

Have only pleasant conversation and no criticism.

Stop speeding. Stop running red lights.

Commit a “random act of kindness” every day.

Learn to contain your anger and channel it into positive uses.

Obtain help for drug and alcohol problems.

Pay your debts.

Avoid the use of the legal system except for serious problems.

Sit down and talk problems through.

Lose weight, stop smoking, exercise and eat a healthier diet.

Car pool or ride a bike to work.

Buy American-made products, not just the cheapest.

Vacation in the United States. There’s a lot to see and do.

Keep your yard and house well maintained. Get rid of junked cars.

Do some volunteer work with a charity of your choice.

Practice religion in your own way.

Turn the volume down in your car; it’s not safe.

Don’t drink and drive.

Don’t drive while talking on your cell phone.

Wear your seat belt, and put children in approved car seats.

Wear a helmet when biking.

Forget you own a middle finger when communicating.

Visit someone in a hospital or convalescent home.

Be aware of your language, it says a lot about you.

The great thing about the above suggestions is that they cost little to nothing and can be done by most of us. Vernon J. Nelson M.D. Spokane

Try view from other side

By law, “the state interest in preventing crimes and threats motivated by bigotry and bias goes beyond the state interest in preventing other felonies or misdemeanors ….”

Our hate-crime laws take into account the bias of people and their willingness to create victims based on race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. They also acknowledge that victimizations of people based on historic, quantifiable oppression do happen. Four crosses have been burned in yards of our citizens this year. Some could dismiss the events as simple, youthful malfeasance.

Let’s hold the offense and the offenders up to the standard you helped put in place. Let’s let the experts examine each case and decide if it meets the criteria for prosecution as a hate crime.

No one knows the the number of incidents motivated by hate. Thirty hate-related incidents have been reported to the city Human Rights office this year.

I would love to lighten up and enjoy this time of year that is holy to many faiths. I cannot be comfortable in a city, county, state or country where, but for the grace of God, I could become a victim as easily as Sue Lindberg-McClelland (“Your Turn,” Dec. 18).

Life is a little different on this side of the fence. Next year let’s you and I put menorahs in our windows or perhaps a black Santa Claus on our lawns. We just may see life from a different perspective. I refuse to be convinced that all will be OK if I stick my head in the sand. Vince Lemus Human rights specialist, City of Spokane

Start new year with new philosophies

The other day I was going over in my mind the number of people I know who have been divorced - many of them two and even three times. I also, in each case, thought about who initiated the divorce, and in almost all cases it was the woman who wanted the divorce. In the rare exceptions where the man wanted the divorce, usually another woman had entered the picture.

So why do so many women have wayward feet and why are so many women leading men astray?

I recall a few years back when the philosophy of women was, “I am woman, hear me roar!” I also recall some words to a song, sung by a woman, that said, “These boots are made for walkin’ and that’s just what they’ll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!” Well those words certainly seem to be etched into the minds of today’s women.

My believe is that television, movies and romance novels have also played a large factor in molding our society. Our society is filled with lonely, empty, broken people who are hiding behind fake smiles.

So as we enter a new year and a new millennium, wouldn’t it be a good idea to change our philosophies, songs, viewing and reading habits so that all the fake smiles can be turned into real smiles? A. LaVerne Filan Waitsburg, Wash.

Misuse of permit frustrating

While waiting at the Fairchild Air Force Base Commissary recently I saw a car parked in the disabled parking zone. Visible in the front window was a disabled parking permit good for five years.

Two people exited the car and walked toward the Commissary. Neither of them was using any type of apparatus used by disabled people. Neither of them displayed any visible symptom of being disabled, such as limping, walking slowly or using an oxygen tank.

I reported this permit misuse to base security forces. They said someone would check out my complaint when they had a patrol available.

When I returned to Spokane, I called Crime Check. I was told to call the Department of Licensing, which said I should call the County Auditor’s office. There, I was referred to the Department of Licensing in Olympia, which said I should complain to the Spokane Police Department. The information I’d given them indicated the permit in question was good until 2001, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Here we have a law that allows disabled people to park in areas clearly marked for such use. I have no problem with that. I do have a problem with people who are misusing the permits. Some people park in spaces marked for disabled people without a permit at all.

We have no agency that is willing to take action against these takers. I’m writing my state representative in hopes that he might be able to help, but I won’t hold my breath. Cameron E. Wylie Spokane

IN THE PAPER

Clark’s glee inappropriate

The Cheney Christmas tree cutting by the eight Sigma Phi Epsilon students from Eastern Washington University sounded quite exciting. That’s the message that your columnist Doug Clark portrayed. He seemed so gleeful in writing about it that he put some of it to rhyme and tried to turn this thoughtless act into humor.

The young “future leaders” of this country should be expelled from school. How does The Spokesman-Review feel about Clark? Gene F. Larson Spokane

Drugs for disorders being developed

Readers of your Dec. 14 story on mental health (“Mental illness treatment ailing, clinical report says”) should also know that pharmaceutical companies are developing more than 80 medicines to treat various forms of mental illness, from anxiety disorders to schizophrenia. Thanks in large part to innovative medicines, most mentally ill patients can be successfully treated in the community, allowing them to lead productive lives and saving money for the health care system.

It should also be noted that, although direct-toconsumer advertising of prescription drugs has been much criticized, it may alleviate a problem pointed out by the report. Half the people with mental illness don’t seek treatment, according to the surgeon general’s study. Direct-to-consumer advertising, by telling people about the symptoms and available treatments for such illnesses as depression, may prompt people to seek diagnosis and treatment. Alan F. Holmer, president and CEO Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Washington, D.C.

Our Generation list left out Korean War

As a lover of history, I truly believe it should be accurate. On Dec. 27, my father and I read the Our Generation section, in which they spoke of events from the 20th century to remember. They mentioned both world wars, the Depression, Princess Di’s death, the civil rights movement and even Woodstock, but one event not mentioned was the Korean War.

My father and millions of his generation are veterans of that war. My father was one of the lucky ones; he left there alive and in one piece, but many did not.

The Vietnam War officially began in 1957 with U.S. advisers after the defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu, and officially ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975. In that time, more than 58,000 Americans died.

The Korean conflict officially began in 1950 and ended with a truce in 1953, yet more than 54,000 Americans lost their lives. So in all actuality, had the Korean war lasted as long as Vietnam, it’s possible that six times as many Americans may have died. Korea didn’t even last half as long as Vietnam, yet only 4,000 fewer Americans died in that - as my father put it, “Too hot in summer, too cold in winter” country! Yet the Korean war and its proud, patriotic veterans can’t even get the respect of being mentioned in a paper!

If you’re going to print events to remember, how about a complete list? Also, how about asking people to remember Desert Storm and Restore Hope as well? Robert V. Mowreader St. Maries

THE ENVIRONMENT

Manage human behavior before forests

Judging from the comments in a Dec. 28 letter to the editor (“Clinton’s proposal a sham”), one begins to wonder how the earth and its forests managed to survive the five billion years that transpired before humans arrived on the scene. In fact, today’s forests are only sick because of human “management.” Until recently, loggers took the bigger, healthier trees and left the runts to reproduce. The problem was compounded by suppressing fire, which is nature’s cleansing mechanism, and this led to the buildup of downfall and brush which choked out any normal regrowth.

What we need to manage is not the forest, but our own behavior. I would also suggest that if the writer really wishes to have access to roadless areas that he try an outmoded method of transportation. It’s called walking. Daniel J. Schaffer Spokane