Speak Out

Speak Out ... On service, reparations

By our readers
09-17-2002

I read your recent articles regarding reparations for descendants of slavery with interest and I have come to the conclusion that I may also be qualified to receive some recompense from the government. Conscription into military service is another form of slavery. My father was drafted into the army and put in harm’s way in the Great War until a German bullet sent him home from the trenches of France with a Purple Heart and a limp. An older brother was called to service and spent several years slogging around Europe as an infantryman in World War II. A younger brother served in the navy aboard ship in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War (he has no claim; he enlisted). I, on the other hand, was too young for the Korean War and too old for Vietnam but that didn’t prevent the government from forcing me into a period of indenture with the peacetime army. While my father and brothers served their country around the world this Connecticut Yankee was destined to serve his time in the Old South at Fort McClellan. You cannot imagine the trauma a young man from the North endures being forced to work side by side with civilians speaking a hard to understand language; it’s like foreign duty without the benefit of extra pay! In time, though, I learned to communicate with the locals, explored the area and eventually married and settled down in Anniston. Even though this Yankee has felt discriminated against for the past 40 years there is no place I had rather call home. Would I accept a check from the government for putting me here? No way! As Minnie Pearl used to say “I’m just so proud to be here!” Jack Stevens Saks No to lottery A state lottery would exploit people with the most to lose. A leading reason the automobile manufacturers have given for locating plants in Alabama is “the quality of the workforce.” The people of our state are above average. Our children are our most precious possessions. We are our brother’s keeper. In our day evil is rampant, but we can stop it at our door. Vote no on the lottery. Vote for Bob Riley for governor. Shirley Deese Bynum Taxes, overruns When I first read of a $71 million overrun on an original estimate of around $61 million I searched my mind for a reason for this more than 100 percent increase. I’m referring to the Eastern Bypass. When I read Susan Hamill’s article in The Anniston Star (Sept. 1) I became enlightened. Since it is immoral not to raise taxes, now I know how I may possibly be exposed to something akin to a religious experience — if only I’ll look at it in the Right way. Maybe the people in all the rest of the states are closer to God since they pay higher taxes. With the Bypass overruns and the accounting debacle in the Jefferson County schools, is it is any wonder there is resistance to raising taxes? No one in their right mind believes this is all the waste in various programs. Since the $71 million overrun was foreseen as far back as 1997 it suggests to me there was a planned boondoggle from the first. And for The Star to defend this because of the impact on southwest Georgia’s economy smacks of hunting for an excuse for the amount still needed. Has anyone ever thought that the tax burden may be too great in all the states we are always being compared to? Fain A. Sizemore Alexandria A real gem I always read Catherine Downing’s column in The Anniston Star. Her column is so refreshing and appealing as she tells of everyday life. She makes me laugh and feel good with her down-to-life style of storytelling. After reading some of her stories, I can sit and relate things from my childhood as well as my motherhood that bring back and instill terrific memories. It is very refreshing to know that everyone has problems, but we can always laugh at them. Thank you for giving her to our community; she’s a real gem. Linda Rogers Oxford

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