Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 27, 1995 TAG: 9505300006
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
He correctly states that the Second does contain one sentence. So do the First, Third, Fourth and others. They all contain related ideas with distinctly separate considerations. This is because when Fredrick Augustus Muhlenberg composed the Bill of Rights, this was common writing form of the day for legal documents.
It would be dangerous to consider the Bill of Rights' references to "The People" as pertaining exclusively to the police, military or government officials and not the general public. As for the militia being a ``singular reference'': Webster's Dictionary, written in about the same era, defined militia as a ``civilian home guard.'' Since national guardsmen are under legal contract, wear government uniforms, use government money and weapons not accessible to the public, as well as having a long, brave history of fighting in foreign wars, they don't qualify as a militia, despite their name.
The only ones left in the Bill of Rights reference to ``The People'' is you and me. If you don't choose to own a gun, that's your right. And unless I break the law and lose my right, I shall retain it as one. Gun ownership is a right, not a privilege like driving a car where the state may remove it on a whim without due process.
Any government that can't trust its own people with the responsibility and means to defend themselves, resist oppression and determine their own future, isn't a true democracy or a free state.
COLIN M. PERRY ROANOKE
Appeals system is soft on criminals
THINK back to where you were when you heard of the horrendous bomb attack on innocent citizens in Oklahoma City. Think of your rage when, after automatically assuming this was an attack by a Middle Eastern terrorist, you are told the attack was by one of your own. Think of your anger and confusion: How could something like this happen, and how could an American ever think up such a horrible event?
Now think of yourself, about 12 to 15 years from now, when most of the events in Oklahoma City have faded from our minds. The constant reminder will be the malcontent whose evil caused this country to change. He'll be a reminder because, thanks to this country's judicial system, he'll survive on the many appeals that he'll be allowed.
If Tim McVeigh is found guilty, he won't have to worry about his justice being swift - there's no such thing. This is the best place on Earth to carry out terrorism: the land of the free. Our out-of-control appeals system allows scum to survive for many years, and at taxpayers' expense. Only in America.
DEBRA ADKINS ROANOKE
Chamber music is more than Mozart
ON BEHALF of the Roanoke Valley Chamber Music Society, thank you for your coverage in February and April.
The RVCMS received enough support not only to finish this season but to schedule five more concerts for the 1995-96 series. For the 16th year, we'll once again be able to present the very finest ensembles from at home and abroad, playing the very best chamber-music literature. It's truly an honor to sponsor these treasured concerts, and a privilege to experience them.
Chamber music is the experience of hearing unique and wonderful music in an intimate setting. Dedicated artists travel to Roanoke from faraway places to perform with passion and grace. They bring to this area a musical and personal experience equal to, and often surpassing, that of the largest musical centers in the world.
Chamber music, and these concerts in particular, are not an experience which is decorous, fixed or sedate. And, the RVCMS is not a ``staid'' organization, as described by Seth Williamson (April 28 Extra section article, ``Chamber group plans a night to remember'').
Over the years, the RVCMS has strived to present mixed ensembles in a variety of interesting and entertaining programs. We have heard the Modern Mandolin Quartet, the Renaissance City Winds in a piece by Victoria Bond and a ``Classical Blues'' concert, and have even programmed ``The Voice of the Whale.'' We have heard string quartets and piano trios play many 20th century works (by Frank Zappa, Erb, Maw, Seeger), modern works for three guitars, pop pieces for brass, a saxophone recital and many other works by composers other than Haydn and Mozart.
Your reviewer has attended very few of these events, especially in recent years. To him and to everyone else, come, experience and enjoy!
ANN-MARIE W. HORNER Executive Director, Roanoke Valley Chamber Music Society ROANOKE
On the holiday, remember why
I GREW up with the poem ``In Flanders Fields'' by John McCrae (1872-1918), a surgeon in France during World War I, which ends:
``If you break faith, with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies blow in Flanders Fields.''
Recently, I discovered another poem, the ``Spires of Oxford'' [as seen from the train] by Winifred Letts. It ends:
``God rest you happy gentlemen,
Who laid your good lives down.
Who took the khaki and the gun
Instead of cap and gown.
God bring you to a fairer place
Than even Oxford town.''
Memorial Day, a day like no other. Don't say that to a mother with a gold star or a boy who lost his only brother. Don't let these thoughts spoil your Memorial Day weekend. Just take a moment to remember. Let your motto be: Someone else gave; I must remember.
GERALD J. BELL VINTON
by CNB