Letter to the Editor

The News Courier encourages letters to the editor. Submissions should be no more than 400 words and include name, address and telephone number for verification. Submissions that do not meet requirements are subject to editing. Writers are limited to one published letter every 30 days. Send letters to P.O. Box 670, Athens AL 35613 or email to adam@athensnews-courier.com. The deadline for letters is Wednesday at noon.

A word of thanks

Dear Athens:

You moved us to tears over and over. As we brought Uncle Ed home, you stood in respect by the side of the road, with hands over your hearts and flying American flags.

It meant the world to our family to see the deep respect shown for Edgar David Gross’ service and ultimate sacrifice and the kindness shown to us as we brought him home to his resting place almost 78 years after his death while serving aboard the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor.

To every person who thanked us for his service and for our family’s sacrifice, to everyone who joined in processions, to the anonymous donor who paid for our family dinner at 306 BBQ, to every person who honored Uncle Edgar in too many ways to count, please know you have our undying gratitude for helping us bring him home in such a fitting, touching and grand fashion.

With kindest regards,

The family of Edgar David Gross,

WT2, U.S. Navy

At an impasse on abortion

Dear Editor:

These are some of the most difficult words I have ever written, partly because they are about a complicated and emotional topic, and partly because I know that they admit to divisions among friends and families that defy resolution. These precious few words are about abortion.

The Alabama legislature and governor have banned almost all abortions in our state. Many of our citizens support their decision, and I understand why. For people who believe that we become human beings at the moment of conception, many of whom have strong religious ties, there is no real alternative to this decision. Killing an innocent human being without justification is murder, whether that person has been born or not. People who hold this position are not evil or ignorant; they are pursuing what they consider to be a correct and merciful goal.

And yet, we disagree about abortion. We do so because many people do not believe that we become human at conception. Rather, they believe that a developing embryo and fetus remain part of a woman’s body until it can survive on its own.

People who hold this position, many of whom have strong religious ties, have no real alternative to seeing abortion as a woman’s choice. They believe that requiring a woman to proceed with an unwanted pregnancy is wrong, and subjects her to dangers and life-long consequences that only she has the right to accept or reject. People who hold this position are not evil or ignorant; they are pursuing what they consider to be a correct and merciful goal.

Here we are, then — at an impasse. We will continue to battle this out in our political institutions and our courts not because some of us are moral and some of us immoral, but because all of us feel compelled to act on equally strong but different convictions. What we should avoid is demonizing those who believe differently from ourselves.

In the end, even those of us who disagree about abortion share the same needs and the same world. We must find food and shelter, education and lifelong opportunities for our children. We must maintain and protect this country’s noblest goals, because they will form the future our children will share. We must find a way to respect one another in our differences even while pursuing conflicting solutions.

We all struggle to find our way in a complex and sometimes dangerous world. We need one another.

Sincerely,

Ken Hines

Chairman,

Limestone County Democrats

A letter about Trump

Dear Editor:

This letter is going to all federally elected legislators from my district.

If you haven’t read the Muller report, then I will send you a copy.

I truly with all my brain, heart and intellect do not believe that as smart as all of you are, that you can continue to support the farce that the man in the position of president has been and continues to be.

Supporting his policies is a much different thing than supporting a corrupt administration. The corrupt things that have come out of the Muller report, even with the redactions, show that with your continued support, that you are in agreement with the corruption.

Sirs, I am 66 years old. I lived through the Vietnam War, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush. … Get my point? I have voted for Republicans and Democrats both, but this gentlemen is not about politics.

This is the core of our Democracy being destroyed by a corrupt man that has more than once obstructed justice to cover up indiscretions in his business, finances and his life, and not just while POTUS.

If you cannot find the moral compass I am sure you all once had, then you should resign because you are not upholding the oath of office you took when you were elected.

If you cannot break from the hold Trump has on your own election, then I pray for you because you have sold your soul.

Sincerely,

Kelly Range

Athens