Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507250003
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: G-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Virginia voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment, which the General Assembly passed, making it easier to participate in the democratic process. This spring, Gov. George Allen vetoed legislation enabling qualified individuals to register to vote at the same time they apply for or renew drivers licenses or while attending to other government matters.
The present candidates have been more concerned with Ma, pie and the flag than with talking about substantive issues requiring more than 30-second sound bites. Are they with him on this or not?
When I graduated from Jefferson High School in 1945, a study of Jefferson's ideals was required, or else the diploma was denied. Each civics student was taught just how important voter participation is, and to what extremes those who would proclaim it the loudest would go to deny it to others in the name of states' rights. It's an old story. And because of the dirty linen, it won't wash.
It was once against state law to educate a black, let women vote, fail to pay the price of voting by poll tax or to vote without a literacy test. It was Virginia state law that closed the schools to children rather than abide by common-sense laws from Washington. Private schools, at public schools' expense, are debated as much now as they were then. And Big Brother is blamed for it all.
The old argument, to keep voting records pure and clean, has been used too many times. The expense of court costs to deny easy access to potential voters will probably be more than the registration program.
As to why there's such a transparent and blatant desire to limit voter participation, ask any good civics student from good old Jefferson High.
R. BROOKS McGHEE
GOODVIEW
Smith's lover should be held accountable
SUSAN SMITH is on trial for the brutal murders of her two children, as well she should be. Another person is involved in this horrible crime who hasn't been charged, and legally it's probably not possible to include him. This doesn't mean he shouldn't share in the culpability.
Smith had a lover who knew she was married and had two small children, but chose to begin and maintain a relationship with her. He knew full well that he had no interest in a permanent relationship, but we don't know how or whether he ever communicated that to her until his final cowardly letter.
It's a fact that she's considered an adult and is responsible for her actions, and no apology is given here for what she did. But she was influenced by this man and his actions. She found something in him that was worth more to her than her children's lives. He obviously didn't find the same in her.
Supposedly he wrote to her that he didn't want a ready-made family. Those few words led her to believe that if only the children weren't in the way, maybe he would stay with her. He may not have meant, ``if you get rid of the kids we can be together,'' but that's the effect his letter had on her. Maybe it was just a poor choice of words, but the effect his words had on her shattered lives. The responsibility for those murdered children also rests on his shoulders.
BEVERLY MERRITT
FERRUM
It all began with Adam and Eve
IN HIS July 9 letter to the editor, ``Morality is not solely Christians,''' E. Jacques Miller stated that some moral codes ``predate Christianity by centuries.''
It's true that Jesus Christ came down from heaven, by means of the Virgin Birth almost 2,000 years ago, and founded Christianity. It's also true that there were other religions before this time that still exist.
Actually, Christianity's roots go back to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve, tempted by the serpent, rebelled against God. This prophesied that Jesus Christ, in time, would slay Satan and that, before this, Satan would be instrumental in bringing about the crucifixion of Jesus. But Jesus' death wasn't the end of the story. On the third day, he rose from the dead, and 40 days later ascended to heaven where he rules the universe and gives eternal life to those who believe in him.
ROBERT S. McCORMICK JR.
LEXINGTON
Many benefits riding on the `smart road'
I NOTICED that James McGrath (July 10 letter to the editor, ``When will cars get smart?'') asked in his letter ``smart for whom?'' in reference to the upcoming ``smart road.'' Well, sir, it would take far too long to extoll the many virtues of the smart road here. But suffice it to say, it would be smart for him.
I urge McGrath to attend the next public hearing on the road to be held in Blacksburg in September, where all his questions can be dealt with in greater depth. It seems safe to assume that he has missed attending any of the previous ones.
I would like to mention just one small aspect of the smart road that will profit him no end, especially when smart roads expand across the nation. Everything he eats, drinks, wears, etc., was brought into his life by the trucking industry. Even if he wove his own clothing or grew his own food, the initial seeds jolly well came to him thanks to a truck bringing it from far away to a store conveniently near him. There will come a day when trucks (and cars, too, for that matter) can be outfitted with smart components for a reasonable price. And then when used on a smart road, the vehicle drives for you. The trucker can then catch up on some badly needed sleep, or he may read or eat a meal with both hands.
Why do people keep forgetting that just about every possession they own was brought to them by a truck? Anything that profits the safety and productivity of a trucker profits us. People shouldn't write one negative word on the smart road without, at the very least, having attended a public hearing.
CATHERINE JAMES
BLACKSBURG
Take another step back in time
NOW THAT our local newspaper has seen fit to revert to the name the publication used while under the Fishburn family's ownership (The Roanoke Times), why don't you also revert to a conservative editorial page? Then the transition would be complete. After all, when Fishburn declared that The Roanoke Times would be a conservative newspaper, at least he was in touch with the majority of his subscribers, which isn't the case with the present editorial staff.
EDWARD J. BENNETT
ROANOKE
Comics are a tame version of real life
REGARDING BEN Beagle's July 12 column, ``These days, the funny pages are no laughing matter'':
I urge Beagle to take off his blinders and see the world for what it is. As is the case with the majority of his opinions, this one is extreme and outdated.
While ``Funky Winkerbean'' was dealing with the subject of Susan Summers' suicide attempt, I found myself getting up early just to see what was happening that day. In a world with people like Susan Smith, it was nice to have someone like Summers to believe in and to hope for.
Why does Beagle see it as such a terrible thing that a few comic strips deal with real life in a much tamer perspective? Maybe these strips have just made him deal with his own mortality. I say to Beagle that terrible is when a murderer will never receive as cruel a death as the children whose lives Susan Smith took.
Maybe someday I will agree with his opinions if I open the funny pages and see that Blondie and her lover are dead and Dagwood is on trial for their murders. Of course, if Beagle were the writer, Elmo and Dennis the Menace probably would have framed him.
MICHELE TAYLOR
BOONES MILL
Racing brings more rot than revenue
TO REPLY to a July 16 letter to the editor in your newspaper, ``Bring on the pony and dog races'' by Ralph Hayes Sr.:
In addition to revenue, horse and dog racing would also bring noise, dirt, traffic, litter and pollution. A possible new business might be a slaughterhouse to deal with the ruined horses. But precious landfill space would be taken up by the greyhounds that are killed and dumped there at age 3 or 4 because they are too old to make money for their owners.
JOHN RUTHERFORD
RADFORD
by CNB