By now, most of us in the United States have heard the heart-wrenching story of how a young Iranian woman, Neda, was murdered by a politically corrupt government.
Posted: Saturday, June 27, 2009 12:00 am
God bless Neda
By now, most of us in the United States have heard the heart-wrenching story of how a young Iranian woman, Neda, was murdered by a politically corrupt government.
She is being hailed as a martyr to the cause of regime change in Iran. God bless her and all the others who want to effect peaceful political change in their own countries.
Turn back the clock. "… four dead in Ohio …." Remember? Four peaceful demonstrators at Kent State University were protesting what they saw as an intellectually corrupt U.S. policy in Vietnam.
Our government purpose for fighting, in the broadest terms, was the "domino theory": If we lose to the Communists there, the next war will be fought in the Pacific islands, including, eventually, Hawaii.
There's an iconic picture of another young protester lying dead on the ground. At Kent State University. Killed by a few armed soldiers of our government. Killed because he objected to our involvement in Vietnam.
Forty years of history have proved him right, of course. Hawaii has been safe.
But he was reviled by the right wing then as he would be today.
Bless all the Nedas of Iran. As a country we, too, exalt in her heroism. But I'd feel better about that if we hadn't buried our Neda as an anarchist instead of a hero.
Steve Poots, Seward
Tied to employers
Why is there anything in this discussion about keeping insurance for health care tied to employers? Most people will change jobs numerous times - why should the employer be burdened with this expense and hassle?
Isn't that burden part of what makes American goods too expensive to compete? We all buy our car insurance and our homeowners insurance on our own. Why not our health care insurance, too?
Many of us already do, but we could use a lot of other individuals/families out there to increase our pool and options.
Maybe then we would really see some competition and accountability from the insurers, providers and the potential patients.
Ruth Thompson, Lincoln
We all truly care
This past Saturday afternoon, I witnessed an accident at 70th and P streets. I watched one vehicle spin around, followed by the ejection of two passengers. I had my wife pull over so that I could assist in any way.
I am not a paramedic or medical professional, but I am a father, and this was the first time I had come face to face with something so tragic. After hanging up with emergency services, I went to see what I could do. Being a witness to the accident, the dispatcher asked me to stay to answer questions.
I found the one thing I could offer was to check on the passengers of the Toyota pickup and let them know everything would be OK. They had airbags and seatbelts, so they were not the immediate focus of others.
What was amazing wasn't the assistance I gave, but the dozens of people lending a hand, keeping the injured calm, trying to control traffic, keeping the ejected kids still, offering words of encouragement and making phone calls to family members of those involved who were not able to make those calls themselves.
I'm not sure I contributed too much myself, but it goes to show that no matter where we work, how much we make, what our skin color is, which political party we belong to, we all truly do care about each other.
William Barrett, Lincoln