'Study history so it won't be forgotten' and more Letters to the Editors

Study history so it won't be forgotten

It seems like in today's society, any kind of discussion of a historical mistreatment toward a group of people is taboo.

I recently wrote a research paper on diaries of the Holocaust with my main point being the reliability and how they should affect people of later generations. Survivors of the Holocaust and families of victims published these diaries to provide people a personal point of view of the horrors of the Holocaust. They didn't want their stories to collect dust and to be used as decoration in a living room to help someone look more cultured. They also published them to provide insights for historians studying the Holocaust so they can get the real story of what happened in the concentration camps.

While some historians are suspicious of emotion playing too large of a part in their diary or memoir, most take diaries as a reliable source with a few understandable inconsistencies.

Writing this paper really changed my perspective on the Holocaust and other instances of genocide. I believe that everyone should research and, at least, discuss this horrible past so that we can prevent it from happening again. Let's not be doomed to repeat our history because we are not willing to talk about it.

MARISSA WEISS

Germantown, Tenn.


Man's changing identity interesting

Re: "Jury won't indict JROTC instructor" on charge of sexual battery (April 19, front page).

When Tom McConnell was charged with sexual battery on a 5-year-old, he was identified as a "Catholic deacon." When the grand jury no-billed him because the charge was frivolous, he was identified as a "JROTC instructor." Does anyone else, Catholic or not, find this interesting?

JIM COSTELLO

Harrison


Help the needy, or help the wealthy?

Republicans in the House are proposing to cut aid to the poorest and hungriest -- to help pay for tax cuts to millionaires. They propose cutting benefits and eligibilities to SNAP (Food Stamps), which has been a lifeline for millions of Americans, especially children and seniors. Their bill disregards basic humanitarian values and compassion taught by the person whose name many of them claim: Christ.

"For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. They also will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger of needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you? He will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least among you, you did not do for me." Matthew 25:42-45.

What would Jesus have done? Help the neediest -- or give tax cuts to millionaires?

SANDY LUSK,

associate executive director,

Hamilton County Democratic Party

Signal Mountain


Our nation needs trained craftsmen

I am much concerned about the direction our nation is heading! Our large corporations continue having their products manufactured overseas due to cheap labor! This means we are not training our young people the skills required to make our nation strong and keep it that way.

While a college education is important to some, but not all, just as important is the training of craftsmen, maybe even more so. If we do not soon put more emphasis on trade schools and apprenticeships by corporations, our craftsmen will die out, leaving no one to train our young people!

Just think what that would do to the defense of our nation.

One thing that saved us in World War II was the ability to supply our brave warriors with better equipment and faster than the enemy could destroy, hence the importance of the trained craftsman!

It is hard to believe that our government allows this travesty to happen. Wake up, America; the clock is ticking.

GENE O. WAGNER SR.

Rossville


Don't follow Alabama's lead

Often having to save face, folks in Alabama have satisfied this need with a sincere "Thank God for Mississippi." This entreaty is no longer working due to Alabama HB56, our infamous illegal immigration law with its incredibly negative impact on taxpayers, business owners, farmers and the state's reputation.

Our Legislature has ignored the reasoned opposition of business groups and others across the state, instead catering to a populace more swayed by fear-inducing biases than by facts or any concern for the state's future. The result is the country's fortified belief that Alabamians are a bunch of redneck clods.

My husband and I will be moving to Chattanooga in the fall. We hoped to leave this kind of legacy behind.

It is with dismay that I watch the Tennessee Legislature pass HB 368 (the "Monkey Bill") and seriously move toward passage of the unconscionable "Safe Commute Act." These bills will stifle your economy and bring your citizens national derision. Don't do it, Tennessee. Show the country that folks in at least one deep-South state aren't Chicken Littles fearing the future, but rational thinkers protecting their state's positive prospects.

MARY LEE RICE

Birmingham, Ala.


Iran diplomacy is the best choice

Pre-emptive war with Iran is insane. Diplomacy is the most effective and the only civilized way to prevent catastrophe.

With continued talks scheduled in May, I encourage Congress to support diplomacy, not pass new legislation that could sabotage it. I hope Chuck Fleischmann will co-sponsor HR 4173, which calls for robust, sustained and comprehensive talks. I urge Sens. Corker and Alexander to oppose SR 380, which pressures the administration to abandon diplomacy and push toward war.

Diplomacy is the wise choice. Let's give our minds, rather than our bombs, a chance.

NANCY SIENKNECHT

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