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Letters to the EditorsCompassion needed all the time, not just in calamitous times© St. Petersburg Times published July 12, 2002 Re: What happened to caring, patience Sept. 11 brought? column by Diane Steinle, July 4. Diane Steinle asked what happened to the gentler, kinder Americans we became after Sept. 11. Good question. A better question is, why does it take tragedy to transform us into caring and compassionate people? How can we forget the outpouring of affection America showed to Oklahoma City after the bombing there? I can still see the mounds of flowers in front of Buckingham Palace after the tragic death of Princess Diana. Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and fires cause us to stop what we're doing to help each other. That's wonderful, and it's true that these calamities bring out the best in us. To me, that simply means that there is a "best" in us. It's almost as if we're saving this precious capacity for consideration and caring for times of desperate circumstances. But Ms. Steinle is not only regretting the disappearance of our best behavior, she also is reporting on the reappearance of behavior that is often rude, impatient and insulting. So, what are we? Caring or crude? I think we're both. Each and every one of us is a mix of regard and disregard for others. Strange creatures are we. It was Christ who said, "Love one another." He meant all the time. We have shown we can love sometimes. We know how beautiful love can be. So, why do we not "love one another" all the time? That's the best question.
Don't give up on the rest of humanity because of one irate driverRe: What happened to caring, patience Sept. 11 brought? column by Diane Steinle, July 4. Diane Steinle, please fill your half-empty cup. Rather than seeing the light and realizing that we are not a kinder, gentler nation due to the isolated incident at a gas station that filled half of your column, I came away believing that you have changed since Sept. 11, maybe expecting more but receiving less. We shouldn't hang our hat on Sept. 11 as the event that will make us better people any more than we should believe that the world is falling apart because of an irate driver at the gas station that life happened to put in your path. I trust that you have filled your tank more than once both before and since Sept. 11; and, if your experience is similar to mine, I hope you've found pleasant, caring people at the pump next to yours who nod their head or say hello. Unfortunately, because of one somewhat strange action, you're giving up on the rest of us. As for the other bad incident, you probably pass about 20,000 vehicles a day on our highways without problems but chose to say that we are losing our brotherhood. Admittedly, I'm a math guy, so maybe that's why I say that one out of 20,000 isn't too bad. I know that meeting nice people at the gas pump and passing kind people in my car makes for a lot of leftover newspapers at the newsstands, which may be contrary to your bosses' goals; but, hopefully, we can all find the good in our everyday lives and help fill some of those half-empty cups.
Largo property owners shouldn't have to pay for nonresidents' library useRe: Numbers illustrate need for new Largo library, letter, July 2. The letter writer states that the current Largo library serves 67,000 registered borrowers, while the current population of Largo is 68,000. It is obvious to me, then, that there are many nonresidents using a facility that will be funded by Largo property owners. I, for one, do not want to foot the bill for all this nonresident use.
We are being railroaded into paying for a library we don't needRe: Call for new library in Largo appears to be without basis, letter, July 4. I want to express great joy at and total approval of Carl J. Hermach's letter questioning the need for a signature library in Largo costing many millions when the current library could be expanded to suit us just fine. I regret that the new commission-approved plan will not be put to a vote for the opinion of all interested taxpayers to be heard and seriously considered before proceeding further. I feel that we are being railroaded into something that we will be paying for many years without our input being welcome or seriously considered.
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From the Times North Pinellas desks Editorial Letters |
