Letters | ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ Voting is an act of our revolution
Voting is an act of our revolution
The (Revolutionary War) patriot, Patrick Henry, had it right when he said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Spoken before the American Revolutionary War, Henry’s cry is one to which most Americans can still relate.
“Liberty or death” was the option for Black Africans when rebelling against slavery in the Americas and apartheid in South Africa. We saw it in Native Americans’ fight for freedom at the Little Big Horn. We heard it from Britain’s Winston Churchill and the survivors of the Jewish holocaust after World War II. In their own words, “Never, never again .…”The “liberty or death” option is true for the Palestinians and the Israelis, respectively, and with other racial and ethnic conflicts around the world where governmental apartheid, genocide and other forms of oppression are practiced.
Given that oppression and genocide are man-made outcomes of evil intentions, death is the preferred option for many victims and advocates who fight against them. Of major concern is governments’ inability to “listen to” protesters, especially the students, who now cry, “Stop the killings.” Thus, for any American governmental complicity, citizens should honor their oath to “defend the Constitution” of the United States against enemies, both foreign and “domestic,” and act. Vote!
Dallas Barnes, Pasco
Thanks for putting measure on ballot
The Walla Walla County Fire District 4 Board of Fire Commissioners has my gratitude for placing a fire levy lid lift on the August primary election ballot. This is our first funding request in almost 40 years and would help keep up with rising costs to provide emergency services.
Costs to provide service increase 4 to 5 percent per year, but state law limits the district’s revenue to just a 1 percent increase per year. Our call volumes have increased 30 percent from 2018 to 2022.
Of our calls, 68% are for medical emergencies. We require additional personnel to reduce response times.
We also need to protect the health and safety of our firefighters. The lid lift would fund renovations at Station 41 on Howard Street to upgrade the ventilation system and replace apparatus that has aged out of service.
The fire district can meet its daily operational and capital needs through this request, which means paying cash instead of borrowing money, which costs taxpayers more in interest payments.
Please learn more about the lid lift at www.wwfire4.org.
Lt. Jim Nagle, Walla Walla County Fire District 4
An apology
On April 12, I was playing poker at Jokers Casino and had accidentally said a racist comment to an African American man. It was an accident, I did not mean it and (it was) horrible mistake. I am not racist and I am not that kind of man. I have humiliated myself. I would like to deeply (apologize) to the poker staff and to the young man in question. I pray to God that this man will find it in his heart to forgive me.
Bob Petty, Benton City
Keep this story in the ‘stone’ age
What a pile of sanctimonious drivel. Micah Smith’s ‘Faith’ piece was on April 17. Smith related a story from the biblical Book of Daniel. The Book of Daniel is a known forgery in the minds of all but the most desperate and insecure theologians. It’s at best, a book of fables.
The story described several people standing up to the pressure to “conform” and refusing to compromise their beliefs. In this case, their Christian beliefs.
Smith is preaching to the choir with this dog whistle of a tale. He references “force from the government” and “‘global geopolitical fires,” and warns the ‘temptation to compromise’ will be “breathtaking.” At the end of it all, though, “We can all proclaim, Jesus is our King.”
When I think of people standing for their beliefs, fictional characters from books written by 2000-year-old goat herders don’t come to mind.
Smith ignores countless real heroes we can reference today, standing for their well supported beliefs, fighting for their rights, their lives and causes dear to them on behalf of all Americans.
The Bible also recommends that parents stone to death their rebellious sons.(Deut:21). Let’s leave this book where it belongs, the “stone” age.
John Fisher, Richland
