11/12/2006

Letters to the Editor

The hand of God?

Often a person wonders whether or not he or she is in God's time.

Nov. 1 was All Saints Day, the reason why Halloween or All Hallows Eve is a holy night.

The Gospel reading for the Mass of All Saints Day is taken from Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes: "Blessed are the poor in spirit ... they who mourn ... the meek ... they who hunger and thirst for righteousness ... the merciful ... the clean of heart ... the peacemakers ... they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness ... "

And finally Jesus said, "Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."

In light of the Beatitudes, it may be that is was not by chance, but by the hand of God, that Derith Smith, Elmwood Township supervisor, was exonerated on All Saints Day. We pray that she is truly blessed. And, let us all thank God that someone in her position has the courage to stand for what is right and true.

Leonard Dezelski
Traverse City

A suggested letter

I am impressed at the outcome of Derith Smith's defamation suit against the three Elmwood township residents. I might guess that these three individuals may want to appeal the decision. I might also guess that they may not have found the humility to apologize to Ms. Smith as the jury saw fit to impose and that the court has ordered. In case they do, I have some suggestions as to what they might say to her.

"Dear Ms. Smith: I truly am sorry for the flaws in my human condition that led me to act in such a vile and intimidating way towards you. As we are all human, this has been a real learning curve for me. From here on out, I will treat people with respect and fairness. If I feel the urge to harass people, namely women, I will seek professional help in order to better understand and change my unacceptable behavior. I am so, so sorry for all the unnecessary problems I have caused. If I would have apologized from the start it may have avoided all this nasty court business. Sincerely ..."

My congratulations to Deri for sticking it out!

Char Verschaeve
Empire

Defining patriotism

If our government system isn't working and we disagree, we are called unpatriotic. From the beginning if we didn't disagree we'd still be ruled by the British.

To me, being unpatriotic is holding secret meetings to dismantle our Constitution, dividing the people to control them, lying time and again to allow certain groups to steal pensions and mismanage intended funds, taking away our veteran's benefits and allowing profiteers to fleece the American public.

Real patriotic democracy is intended to represent all citizens and not just the ones who sell us out.

John Sanchez
Traverse City

People should lighten up

This is in response to the column by Kathy Gibbons about the man who was upset with the gay marriage announcement. He needs to get a life! Gay marriage is the least of this country's worries! Not just the war in Iraq, but our dependence on foreign oil, kids in our own country going to bed hungry, seniors who can't afford anything, illegal immigrants, and so on!

But, being the wife in a biracial marriage, I am not surprised by the backwards thinking of this man. After being married for 20 years to an African American man, (I am white) we still get the stares, the sneers, the whispers, and I just chalk it up to lack of education. And does a biracial marriage or a gay marriage really affect or have anything to do with the way the world is, or affect anyone's everyday life? I think not!

Becky Vaden
Gaylord