Letters for March 22, 2022

A symphonic opportunity for our children

On March 16 I had the pleasure of volunteering to usher at the Spokane Symphony’s concert for fourth-graders from our local school districts. What an amazing gift to these kids who haven’t been on a field trip for two years! I’m sure these children felt so special just stepping foot into the gorgeous art deco Fox Theater.

James Lowe, the conductor, gave an enthusiastic introduction to all the instruments with examples of each one’s unique sounds. He also introduced some diverse composers/pieces to help visualize the characters in the music – thanks to the delightful symphony orchestra.

What a gift, since these same kids next year will be deciding on which instrument they would like to learn. It felt like I was seeing the future symphony musicians in front of me.

Thanks to all who made this possible. Our children are our greatest asset, we need to help them see the incredible possibilities for them. This did it for music!

Mary Naber

Spokane

Snap out of it

When a nation, peoples, culture, civilization, society, call it what you may:

Wages war to bring peace,

employs racism to end bigotry,

demands censorship to guarantee freedom,

lies to ensure truth,

beggars to create prosperity,

stifles to achieve advancement,

practices hate to instill love,

conflates compassion with dependence,

punishes children to assuage elders,

mistakes ignorance for enlightenment,

justifies criminality to redress historic wrongs,

enables twerpy techies to call the tune,

and stumbles toward potential obliteration to preserve a future,

it has lost its way, stepped through the looking glass, and best heed the warning of one wizard to another, to wit: “And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.”

William Baxley

Spokane

Rebuttal to Monaghan statue letter

Bart Preecs’ letter “Monaghan statue,” March 15) comparing the invasion of Ukraine to the situation that resulted in the honorable death of Ensign John Monaghan is based on falsehoods. America at the time of his death was not invading Samoa with the intent of taking it over. In fact, just the opposite. America and Great Britain were asked to help the legitimate Samoan government fight a rebellion by Samoans being backed by Germany. The majority of combatants on both sides of the battles fought during the Second Samoan Civil War were Samoans. I urge everyone to seek the truth by looking up this war and read the facts for yourself.

The misleading narrative used by activists can’t be the basis for making decisions about the Monaghan statue. The way forward must be based on the truth, which comes from documented facts. It’s likely that the ancestors of the Samoans that want the statue removed were part of the rebel forces. They received the brunt of the military might of the United States and Great Britain. But they gave as good as they got. The rebels were skilled and brave warriors that killed many of their fellow Samoans as well as British and Americans, including John Monaghan, whose head was removed as a war souvenir.

The healing way to resolve this is to update the plaques to remove the offensive words and explain why Ensign Monaghan was in Samoa. Removing the statue would be an insult to all American veterans that have fought in unpopular wars.

Ivan Urnovitz

President, Spokane Council

Navy League of the U.S.

Spokane

Tax exemption for seniors

Wendell Smith (“Property tax,” March 15) and other seniors in Spokane County need to know that there is a property tax exemption that they can apply for through the assessor’s office. It’s based on income. Call the assessor’s office for more information.

Jenny Payne

Spokane

Pay your way even if in jail

Abby Anderson’s guest opinion (“Incarceration should not be debt sentence,” March 11) reinforced my strong belief that the Washington state prison system has morphed into a well-functioning system that is as fair as it can and needs to be to those that end up incarcerated.

The incarcerated are in there to pay their debt to society. They are to earn their keep while inside and that includes paying for their extra medical needs as needed on a per person basis. I pay medical co-pays and for any extra medical care I need and so should the incarcerated. The low pay per hour for those in prison has been worked out over many years of trial and error and is completely fair for anyone that ends up in a prison or jail in Washington state. The incarcerated get enough health care now and the system is fine the way it is.

Also, the incarcerated who have a good family and friends support system outside of prison will have little issue getting good legal help. For those incarcerated that do not have a good family and friends support system must have done things very wrong along their path to where they ended up.

James Lee Darby

Spokane Valley