Sherry Allen – 3/23/10

This page was last updated on March 24, 2010.

It’s how we act after events that matters; Sherry Allen; Beaver County Times; March 23, 2010.

Ms. Allen wrote three previous letters I didn’t critique. One (“Conserving water for future,” 1/13/08) asked us to conserve water (primarily by not eating meat) and another (“Say ‘no’ to push polling,” 2/10/08) complained about alleged telephone “push polls” by Republicans, and the third was (“Plant a garden to offset oil usage,” 8/1/08). In one letter I did critique, Ms. Allen gushed about a book she found “that has hundreds of ideas on how to save our planet.” In a partisan letter, Ms. Allen concluded with “Let’s endeavor to walk together peacefully.” In one letter, Ms. Allen related a story of disaffected Republicans voting for Mr. Obama. In another letter, Ms. Allen tried to compare abortion and war in an effort to promote Barack Obama over John McCain. Other letters from Ms. Allen were entitled “Let’s be proactive on the environment,” “Arena a valuable community asset,” “Time to get behind health-care reform,” “A state budget we can all live with,” “Keep pushing for a public option,” “Election ruling terrible for nation,” and “Practicing small acts of kindness.”

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“I was moved by the March 14 letter, ‘Editorial displayed Sept. 10 attitude.’

“However, I share the editorial board’s concern. Many Americans want a quick fix or pill to solve their problems.

“History often repeats itself when we forget the past. One of the many reasons Rome fell was the people got scared and gave up their freedoms for protection. Rome became a military state its citizens couldn’t afford.”

[RWC] I’m not an expert on Roman history, but let’s accept Ms. Allen’s assertion for the sake of argument. As noted above, Ms. Allen wrote letters advocating a government-run, taxpayer-funded healthcare monopoly as “a quick fix or pill to solve [healthcare] problems.” Does Ms. Allen not see the parallel to what she claims happened to Rome? Rewriting Ms. Allen a bit, “One of the many reasons America fell was the people got scared and gave up their freedoms for healthcare. America became a socialist state its citizens couldn’t afford.” Have you noticed how many people can see in others what they can’t see in themselves?

“I agree with the writer that we have some strong honorable people in this country.

“Many families of the 9-11 victims pleaded with George W. Bush not to go to war, and millions more in America did, too, not to mention many foreign countries.”

[RWC] Why do folks like Ms. Allen believe we should be guided by what “many foreign countries” allegedly want?

“My mother’s doctor’s husband was the only firefighter from his squad who miraculously survived buried under his debris-covered fire truck. Suffering post-traumatic stress, he continued working to find survivors.

“Survivors of violent crimes are encouraged to keep on with their lives or the criminal wins. We lose when we react to life rather than act.

“Remember that in a crisis, your brain or tour awareness of your environment is your most important weapon.

“We are not responsible for what happens, but for what we make of it.”

[RWC] Doesn’t this contradict “We lose when we react to life rather than act?”