Today's culture sure has changed and other letters to the editors

Friday, November 22, 2013

Today's Culture sure has changed

For this once being called the Bible Belt, things sure have changed, and the change has really caused this nation to go to the dogs. We can now tell it is the devil's playground.

Christians should be ashamed of themselves for sitting by and letting a few ungodly people change things to suit themselves. I say to them if you don't like the way things are done here, there are ships leaving every day.

Wanting to remove Bibles from our schools and having no prayer in our courts, yet giving out condoms, ungodly video games, ungodly marriage, it is no wonder our children are so messed up, our nation is so twisted.

Say no to wrongful marriages, no to dismissing prayer, no to removing the 10 Commandments, and before running for any kind of office, candidates should be tested to be sure they are smarter than a fifth-grader.

TERRY TAYLOR, Rossville


Put sports in perspective

The Nov. 15 editorial read "football is the lifeblood of Marion County and South Pittsburg." Seriously? How did we ever get to this point?

This is a game and afterwards, win or lose, those who engaged take away the lessons learned of teamwork and participation, takeaways that are the true and worthy purpose.

Administrators and some coaches, however, see this through an entirely different lens where winning is the purpose. Today only the best take the field. The losers are the kids who have not and may never develop into elite athletes and are therefore denied participation. For them, sitting in the stands waving school colors is their lot.

In pursuit of winning, our schools have lost sight of this goal and have folded to the contrived pressure of the big game, and along with that, super-sized egos eager to strut into the Friday night klieg glow.

When the primary purpose of school athletics has become entertainment for the community we have lost ... more correctly, our kids have lost. Today more kids are in the stands cheering than participating, more kids are obese than fit waddling into adulthood unaware they were robbed the opportunity of participation.

DENNY PISTOLL, Wildwood, Ga.


Let readers decide on comics

I agree with your Ooltewah reader who says readers should have input when changes to the funnies are contemplated.

Several years ago when the Sarasota Herald-Tribune was planning changes, readers got to vote on which ones stayed and which ones got dumped. (That's how I was introduced to "Pickles," one of my favorites.)

Point one: The comics are about entertaining your readers - not informing them (and certainly not irritating them).

Point two: When you know changes are coming it's not such a jolt to find one of your favorite strips (in the middle of a storyline yet!) gone when you have just started your first cup of coffee. Personally, I find "Wumo" a big yawn. After a few days I quit reading it. Now I'll worry about bigger problems.

NANCY BISHOP, Birchwood


Probasco column was shocking

Did Pam Sohn get caught sleeping and miss the excellent Ben Probasco commentary that was placed on the Times side of the editorial page Monday?

The one praising our Republican governor and his pro free enterprise, competitive marketplace principles being applied in state government? And for it to be placed right next to an article by Paul Krugman, the economist who never lets sound economic principles interfere with his liberal political views! I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you.

KEVIN H. ROBERTS