Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 1, 1995 TAG: 9501040036
SECTION: EDITORIALS PAGE: F-2 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Our state bureaucrats are continually overmatched and out-negotiated while political ambition replaces good judgment. Hundreds of businesses in Virginia expand, hire more people and pay state income taxes without ever asking for state handouts.
In the meantime, our governor gets his picture taken giving away state taxpayers' money as if it were his own.
JOHN K. BOARDMAN
BEDFORD
U.S. should stop catering abroad
WHEN I READ articles about how the United States caters to foreign countries - Japan, Russia, Korea, etc. - it makes me sick to my stomach.
The United States wants all to be friends, have trade agreements, learn about each others' weapons. Hogwash! Putting trust in these people would be like putting a kitten in a pen with a half-crazy dog.
I hope the United States always stays strong and powerful because if we ever fall, it's going to be a rude awakening for Americans.
Read between the lines: You earn friendship, you don't buy it - and trustworthiness is hard to find.
ROGER SHELTON
SALEM
Santa doesn't fit a single mold
REGARDING Claire E. Sanders' Dec. 21 letter to the editor, ``More confusion concerning Santa'':
The letter objects to a Dec. 4 photograph in this newspaper showing a Santa Claus who has black skin. Ms. Sanders feels this ``ridiculous portrayal of Santa'' should be kept underground, and that it is ``not appropriate for the general, literate (mostly white) public.''
Santa Claus is indeed a mythical character. For Ms. Sanders to expect everyone to live within her vision of who Santa is, or how he may look, is very selfish.
This is make-believe. Let all the children have make-believe. How does Ms. Sanders explain to her child the ocean of Santas at every mall and shopping area? Is that more confusing to a child, the 50 different Santas seen, or the fact that one of them has an accent or a different color of skin or wears glasses?
Obviously, no one has explained to Ms. Sanders that a ``white Christmas'' has nothing to do with the color of Santa's skin. Christmas is a Christian celebration, for all to enjoy. It is not, as she would prefer it to be, a special time of year for white kids only.
DAVID LEWIS
ROANOKE
A job awaits her with Thought Police
WHEN I read the Dec. 21 letter to the editor by Claire E. Sanders (``More confusion concerning Santa''), I was appalled. in fact, I had to reread it to be sure that I had not misunderstood the writer's meaning. Unfortunately, her elitist message came through loud and clear.
As Ms. Sanders stated, Santa is a mythical character that children love. As a result, it is possible to portray him in a wide variety of costumes and skin colors. However, she suggests that her white Santa is the only version that the literate white public should see. All other depictions should be kept ``underground.'' Perhaps she should look for employment with George Orwell's Thought Police so that she may help decide what the mainstream public can and cannot read.
Ms. Sanders boasts of her literacy. However, she is an excellent example of a literate but still ignorant individual.
I suggest that she open her eyes and her mind to the melting pot of America before her confused child grows up to be another narrow-minded, ignorant member of society.
MELANIE CASEY CROVO
ROANOKE
by CNB