Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 3, 1995 TAG: 9509020002
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: G2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
My friend smokes, and her mom knows it. Her mom buys her cigarettes. The more you make cigarettes harder to get, the more teens want them. I know from experience. It's the thrill of doing something wrong. You're not going to stop teens from smoking, at least not the way Clinton is going about it.
I'm 14 years old. I know people who can buy cigarettes because they're over 21. If I want them, they'll get them for me, if I ask them to.
You might stop some teens from smoking, but not all of them. They're going to do what they want to do. Teens aren't as dumb as you think they are. They'll find ways. There's always more than one way to get something you want.
My parents have smoked for more than 40 years each. My dad started smoking when he was 6 years old; my mom started when she was 13. It has affected my dad more than my mom. I've had to live with this for about all my life, but cigarettes didn't cause all of it. I don't think anyone knows how bad cigarettes really are, not even doctors.
Well, I've said how I feel about the way Clinton is trying to stop teens from smoking. The reason why I don't smoke is because I can get them too easily.
CRYSTAL CRUFF
VINTON
The Robin Hoods at the newspaper
IN RESPONSE to your Aug. 27 editorial ``The wage gap is too big'':
You whiny liberals at the newspaper never cease to amaze me. You appear to be dead set in your determination to take it away from the achievers and give it to somebody else.
At least, you practice what you preach when it's economically beneficial to you. For example, for years in your classified department, you've charged more to business owners than to other individuals, because you presumably believe that businesses can afford it. In keeping with this logic, wouldn't it follow that you should take some of the salary from the editorial writer and give it to the poor newspaper carrier - not only because the editor can afford it, but also because the newspaper carrier needs it more!
Believe it or not, some jobs just aren't worth as much as others. I long for the day that this newspaper has to step into the real world of competition.
PATRICK COSMATO
HARDY
Oddly, no mention of ROTC at Tech
I ENJOYED your Aug. 21 article on Trimble Bailey (``Woman knows what she wants - military education''), the young woman who seeks a military education at the new Virginia Woman's Institute for Leadership at Mary Baldwin College.
However, your article contains a glaring omission. If Bailey considered various universities offering ROTC and the service academies, what was her conclusion regarding the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets? Surely she would be aware of the VTCC, as both her parents reportedly attended Tech.
If Bailey regards the now-coed Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets unworthy of her consideration and unworthy of mention in The Roanoke Times, then this fact and her reasoning behind it are surely pertinent!
JAMES R. NIEDERLEHNER
ROANOKE
Prayer amendment isn't needed
REGARDING the Aug. 26 article in your newspaper, ``U.S. gives blessing to prayer in school'':
All our schools will benefit from the Clinton administration's recent guidelines on religious activities in public schools. I strongly support this clarification of what's permitted under current law.
To the surprise of many in the religious community who have recently been propagating misinformation, current law permits: individual prayer at any time, and informally organized group prayers as long as they don't cause a disruption; carrying and reading of Bibles and religious literature; distributing religious literature; proselytizing; and wearing religious clothing, etc.
A school-prayer amendment to the U.S. Constitution is unnecessary. The Constitution and laws of our country already guarantee religious freedom, while preserving the vitally important First Amendment guarantee of separation of church and state.
Separation of church and state, which has given Americans unprecedented religious freedom, must be preserved. And students, as well as other citizens, must be free to practice their religious beliefs.
HARRY J. SHARLETY
Pastor, Wytheville/Pulaski
Seventh-day Adventist Churches
WYTHEVILLE
A tall order for public education
OAKEY Funeral Service first ran ``Dear World'' as part of its advertisements quite a few years ago. I kept copies since it was a poignant plea to be kind to young sons and to young daughters who would soon be starting school.
In reading the fine print, we as adults were asked to guide these young students on their great adventure, and to prepare them to live in a world where we still need heroes, great leaders, American patriots, and individual strength and integrity - to live in a world prepared to compete and recognize that it's far more honorable to fail than to cheat, and to learn to listen to all men, but learn also how to filter out the truth and reject the meaningless and worthless.
This is a serious assignment to public education. I wonder how many ways we will have as educators to turn out well-prepared students for today, not just for the year 2000 and beyond.
An Aug. 20 commentary (``True esteem is blocked by pride'' by Bo Chagnon) caught my attention because it railed against the blending of esteem and pride. It seemed to attach a negative connotation to pride, and a positive one to esteem. It postulated that one can have self-esteem just knowing one is worth being treated with dignity and respect - because one is a person.
This is a sad day for semantics when the real meaning of self-esteem is pride of one's self. Perhaps it would be wise to teach our young wards that the first order of business is hard work, which when accomplished is followed by a feeling of achievement. This natural progression establishes a growing self-esteem that matures and ripens with effort. This is quite an order, to be sure. But, Dear World, see what you can do.
BETTY G. PRICE
ROANOKE
Roanoke keeps its hometown touch
REGARDING Beth Macy's Aug. 13 article titled ``What will hook you in the valley'':
What a great article! It's a pleasure to read one written from the heart, and one that represents the situation exactly. Macy obviously knows the Roanoke Valley. Her touches on human nature in the valley are exactly as they are and should be. Roanoke isn't a tourist mecca. It's a great place to live and visit, and the reasons are exactly as she portrays them.
Roanoke is seen as a proud mountain city by outsiders. This isn't meant to be a derogatory statement. The pride is shown by the development of the downtown area, the City Market area, and the lifestyle of the people who - to Macy's point - don't need to manufacture festivals. It definitely does have that hometown touch. I may be old-fashioned, but I enjoy seeing people gathering together at the Mill Mountain Star to watch the sun go down, then folding their chairs to return home.
This isn't to say festivals are bad; they're not. It's a wonderful opportunity to show off the city and have some fun.
Congratulations to Macy on a fine article.
RODGER DOSS
ROCKY MOUNT
by CNB