Letters to the editor for July 14
Work together to find solutions
Monday’s Opinion page had an article by Jeff Guo of the Washington Post. In it he referenced the Lyndon Johnson era Kerner Commission report. This report was an attempt to solve the terrible civil strife of the ’60s. The report presented serious solutions to serious problems.
Today, many of those problems – racism, inequality, violence and social justice – are still with us. Part of the reason is the lack of support for initiatives and programs that were addressing those issues.
On the same page were three letters from area males who wrote lengthy pieces fixing blame on a specific individual. So much space on blame when we should be discussing practical solutions.
Faced with the problems in 1968, voters selected a law-and-order candidate, Richard Nixon. We all know how that approach turned out.
Today the solutions proposed almost 50 years ago still seem valid as the problems are still the same: (1) a massive public works program, (2) the creation of 2 million jobs for the inner city, (3) a basic minimum income for urban families and (4) subsidies to expand the stock of affordable housing by 6 million units.
Many of us remember 9/11 when there was a widespread coming together of all of us. We have let that unity fall away. We repeat, “United we stand divided we fall,” and yet we can’t seem to agree on anything. What part of “united” don’t we understand !
We are all in this together and we, the people, must be looking for solutions from our leaders. We should not let those who would lead us to trivialize the process by feeding us lines like “the system is rigged,” “the government is corrupt,” or that their opponent is a “criminal,” “liar” or “psycho.”
Let’s all work to fix the problems and not fix the blame.
Ernie Leger
Rock Hill
Litter mars many scenic sites
In spite of all the beautiful free public byways in South Carolina, we seem to be inundated by litter from a few individuals. I’m preaching to the choir here as I surmise most of the culprits don’t or can’t read a newspaper.
Of particular disappointment is our beautiful Riverwalk, where most users, including dog owners, don’t leave anything behind them. Nevertheless, there continues to be the usual miss of the too few garbage containers and no attention paid by city employees cruising in their golf carts as the same garbage is lying in the same spot for days.
Solutions? More garbage containers on the path. Right now we need a ton of them at the kayak launch. City employees, Moss Justice Center inmates and volunteer service groups should pick up trash.
Charge for use like the Anne Springs Close Greenway does. Have harsher penalties for littering anywhere in South Carolina!
Barry Voss
Rock Hill
Clinton sets a new precedent
Hillary Clinton has set a precedent for the criminally accused. If you are ever in a court of law and asked, “How do you plead, innocent or guilty?” just say, “I didn’t mean to do it,” and the judge should set you free.
Eddie Smith
York
This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Letters to the editor for July 14."