Drivers ignore traffic attendants at KCI. Here’s how to fix the airport pick-up mess | Opinion
Move ’em along
I just returned from Chicago to our new airport. I was looking forward to seeing how organized the pickup situation would be with traffic enforcement officers keeping it flowing.
It was 4:30 p.m., so not a late hour. The airport was fairly busy, so I went to the pickup area after retrieving my bag and calling my husband who was in the cellphone lot, as we have all been instructed.
There were multiple vehicles sitting and waiting in the pickup lanes, like we used to do. There were no police in sight, only a few young men in orange vests waving wands directing traffic — and being completely ignored. Instead of getting people to move, they were trying to move cars forward to make room for more.
I flew in from Chicago Midway International, and trust me: You cannot sit for a minute there unless a passenger is getting into your car after putting a suitcase in the back. Even then, your time is limited to seconds before the whistles and yelling to move on begins.
Maybe more attendants with a strict policy of getting cars’ license-plate information to assess owners a hefty fine would do the trick?
- Eileen Robinson, Kansas City, Kansas
Think patiently
I find it disturbing that Kansas’ U.S. senators have not spoken out about the need to decouple the routine procedure of raising the debt limit, to pay for past spending decisions, from the debate over how to budget for spending to come. This is not a time for political grandstanding.
Sen. Roger Marshall, given his medical background, understandably could lack the knowledge and awareness that a broader education in political science, history or finance would have provided. Perhaps a medical example could aid in his obligation to legislate responsibly:
His patient arrives and requires an emergency cesarean section to save the life of the mother and child (analogous to the debt ceiling crisis). Dr. Marshall declines treatment and demands he must have a thorough discussion with the patient and her family over future options for birth control and family planning before he will provide the needed patient care (analogous to the current Republican demand for budget discussions before raising the debt ceiling).
I trust that Marshall’s medical and moral training and ethics would, and will, advocate for the right course of action.
- Steve Peterson, Spring Hill
Cause, effect
Shouldn’t pro-gun legislators share the responsibility for gun violence and murders in this country? Evidence shows that the laws they pass often lead to more killings.
For example, in 2004, Republicans in Congress voted against renewing a 10-year ban on assault weapons. Mass shootings have increased from 272 in 2014 to 690 in 2021, and to at least 210 so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive at www.gunviolencearchive.org.
The Missouri General Assembly is on a path to eliminate almost all gun state laws. In 2007, lawmakers killed a law that required a permit to purchase and carry a handgun. That alone has resulted in up to 68 more gun deaths in the state each year, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.
Lawmakers who revoke sensible gun laws excuse themselves with the claim that they protect individual rights. That line of reasoning should lead them to outlaw automobile seat belts and airbags, too. It is past time for Americans to claim their right to safety from guns and to hold lawmakers responsible for the carnage they have helped create.
- Keith Evans, St. Joseph
Pain is real
“It’s all in your head.” This is the refrain of many health care providers to patients suffering from chronic pain, a recognized long-term disease. With about 70 million sufferers, and a National Pain Strategy being part of the Affordable Care Act, one would think pain management in this country would have advanced much further than having to fight to convince medical providers that the constant burning, stinging, aching and throbbing sensations are real. They exist.
This struggle is especially true for members of marginalized communities who do not have the privilege, power and resources to access elite providers who have found ways to dig deeper into the research, learn about management and at least acknowledge chronic pain.
Why? The research exists, and the education is out there. Stanford Medicine has an online pain-management series that anyone can access for free. An integral part of the National Pain Strategy was to encourage this exact type of education. However, it has fallen short.
It is time we require health care providers to be educated on proper pain management to minimize patient suffering and save the time, resources and money that go into the patchwork of chronic pain care in America.
- Anneliese Majsterek, St. Louis
Not heavenly
St. Peter was furious — so angry that he had no words to describe the job of admitting all the people sent to the gates because of gun-loving so-called “Christian” patriots. So he stopped by the throne of God to vent.
“I’ve had it, God,” Pete said. “Those people are willing to sacrifice their own children and send them to us way too early. Heaven is not a dumping ground, God.”
“ Pete, sit down for a bit on the throne. You need to rest,” God sighed, and strode back and forth with a tired and worn expression.
“Of course you are right, Pete. And what’s more is that we have been spammed with calls on the prayer lines, thousands of robocalls. We have had to put a filter on since the system was never designed for this,” God mused sadly.
“You know, prayer was meant to support action, provide a conduit between the heavens and Earth. It was never meant to be a token, a relief valve, or even an excuse. But here we are. I have to tell you, Pete, that God is mighty lonely and sad right now.”
“I know, “ said Pete. “We all are.”
- Lonnie R. Buerge, Kansas City
