VOICE OF THE PEOPLE | Oct. 25, 2009

An armed populace protects our freedom

In response to Kurt Lemhouse of York: It is always scary when people start talking about interpreting anything from the Bible to the Constitution. Mainly because interpreting in the 21st century venacular often means �in my opinion.� Meanwhile the context is thrown out the window, mostly in deference to �political correctness,� but basically to whatever agenda the interpreter is trying to advance.

This being 2009 aside, you have to look at the Second Ammendment in the context of who wrote it and why they wrote it. The founding fathers lived in a time when an unarmed populace equalled subjects, and an armed populace equalled citizens.

Security of free states? There are not many free states today. They are hooked on government largesse, living off what Washington doles out. But back then, the free state was capable of independent existence without the federal government.

Well regulated militia? Believe it or not, this was not a professional military organization, nor even semi-pro like the National Guard of today. This was you; me, the lawyer and the laborer, the farmer and the framer, the dolt and the intellectual. In other words (referring to the second part of the Second Ammendment) the people.

Why do you think that it�s so important to those who would subjugate the population to first disarm the population? One reason that more attempts haven�t been made to date is that they remember the congressional elections of 1994 after they passed the assualt weapons ban.

The greatest �last stand� recorded is that of the Spartans against the Persians at Thermopylae in Greece. The Persians insisted that the tiny band of Spartans and other Greeks surrender their weapons. The Spartans answered, �Come and get them.� They died, but they died free men.

We need to pay attention people. Open our eyes and see what is going on instead of what the Democrats or Republicans are spoon-feeding us. Pay attention, there�s a test coming.

--William Yeater, Richburg

Free clinic helps local uninsured

I am immensely proud of two things (1) my church, Oakland Baptist, for guiding the creation of the Palmetto Volunteers in Medicine Clinic across from the Piedmont Medical Center, and (2) my president for adamantly supporting bipartisan legislation this year for health care insurance reform.

The recently created clinic provides, for the first time in Rock Hill, free medical care for uninsured adults. The uninsured are not a faceless statistic to the volunteers at the clinic; rather, the uninsured are seen as real individuals who are very grateful that their health care needs are being taken care of. Due to limited resources, the clinic can serve only 147 people � a tiny part of the overall need. However, the clinic operates on the principle that it is better to do something than nothing; it is better to light one small candle than to simply curse the darkness.

My president, in his speech before a joint session of Congress, boldly proposed health care insurance reform that can provide affordable insurance for the uninsured and yet still add security and stability to the health insurance policies of everyone else. He noted that there is bipartisan recognition that this is a problem and that both parties should work together to solve it.

I hope that health care insurance reform is passed this year. This reform will mean that the free clinic will no longer be needed, but that is OK! Hopefully, the time of glass jars set out on convenience store counters to desperately try to collect funds for major medical operations will become a thing of the past.

--Christopher North, Rock Hill

Vick has served his sentence

In response to Inge A. Smith�s comment about not letting Michael Vick play football: When does punishment end after the justice system has run its due course?

I personally don�t care about Michael Vick�s case or the details of it. In this country, we have become so opinionated that we have lost focus on freedom. A person should not have to be tormented after he has paid a judicial penalty.

A person could argue about the rights of the animals. If that is the case, your problem is the judicial system. If everyone took Inge Smith�s approach, we would be in trouble because everyone, regardless of who you are, has a skeleton in the closet. Judge not lest ye be judged.

--Chris Davis, Rock Hill