ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 21, 1996 TAG: 9608210013
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
WE LIVE in an age of comfort and convenience, and part of the American dream is having one's say: conservative, liberal; old, young; white-collar, blue-collar. We all want our voice to be heard, especially in this election season.
Yet there is one part of our society that cannot speak for itself: the unborn. If we do not speak for them, who will?
Mother Theresa, speaking of the crime wave stalking the United States, asked: If we as a society can accept a mother killing her own child, how can we tell someone not to kill a stranger?
When we vote for a president in November, we should ask ourselves: Do we want four more years of a Clinton administration that will not speak for those who cannot speak for themselves?
SCOTT DREYER
HARDY
A sad, narrow view of the Olympics
IN HIS Aug. 9 commentary, "We don't need the Games," B. O'Neal Burch, a retired Baptist minister, writes with disdain for the recent Atlanta Olympics. Among other things, he found the coverage to be downright boring at times. He thinks the entertainment was under par, while Stevie Wonder's rendition of John Lennon's ``Imagine'' was, for him, anti-American, anti-Christian and anti-God.
Burch wonders if the Olympic movement is promoting humanism as its own religion. It's good the Olympic movement is gone from these shores, he insists.
To comment on such talk is perhaps below the dignity of the Olympic movement. In reading this sad commentary, however, I am forced to conclude that what Burch has said tends to be more about him and his narrow perspective of fellow human beings, and how he has allowed his religious bias to skew the movement's ideals.
No doubt this anxious and delusional view of the world is shared by others who think they know. What they need to know, however, is that there is no such thing as an uninteresting sport or Olympic game.
Perhaps the problem here is the view that we come to know as spectators. In becoming more like those that we watch from the sidelines, perhaps the stress that we feel in this world could somehow be less.
ERIK ANDERSON
MARTINSVILLE
With each election, leaders get worse
IN RESPONSE to Bob Gregory's Aug. 1 letter to the editor, ``Show more respect for the president'':
How can anyone have respect for the people we elect to office anymore? All they want to do is make a name for themselves and boost their own finances. And they are doing so by stepping on the poor, the homeless and the working people. They are causing the poor to be poorer and the homeless to be homeless, and are making it harder for working people to earn an honest dollar.
Why do these politicians care so much for fame and money? They can't take it with them when they leave this world.
At one time, America was a caring, loving and free country, but no longer. Our country is slowly being destroyed, and it's our fault as much as the politicians because we elect them to office. Every time we elect one, we get one worse than the one before. This goes for all government offices and the presidency.
God created us ``to love and to do unto one another as we would have them do unto us.'' I don't think those in office would like to be done unto like they are doing to us. I think it's time they open their eyes and see how they are destroying this country before it's too late to fix it. Or is it already too late?
JO CRABTREE
CERES
Magic won't stop abuse of children
AFTER CHECKING out Katherine Reed's review of ``Matilda'' (Aug. 3, ```Matilda' is magical''), in which she gives the movie 31/2 stars, I thought it sounded like a safe bet for me and my 12-year-old daughter. We were expecting a funny movie with a few scary scenes - something like ``Home Alone.'' We ended up experiencing just the opposite - a scary, sad movie that, in two hours, produced only about three audible laughs from the audience. The 3 1/2 stars were totally undeserved.
What the movie had in store for us was a depressing portrait of child abuse and neglect, unchecked by law enforcement. Relief from Miss Trunchbull is provided only through Matilda's magical powers, which all but toddlers know do not really exist.
Though Matilda's home situation was exaggerated, I imagine many kids seeing the movie will identify with its horror. How will they cope with abusive relationships without Matilda's "magical powers"? The movie offers no alternatives.
I don't recall having ever seen a movie aimed at children that flies in the face of so many of my values. I was embarrassed to have brought my child to see it, and told her so. I advise parents to preview this movie before allowing children of any age to view it.
Needless to say, we strongly disagree with Reed's review. ``Matilda'' is anything but "magical.''
SHERRIE ANDREWS
DALEVILLE
LENGTH: Medium: 100 linesby CNB