Letters: A plea from the trees — don't forget us in new Downtown Jacksonville plans

The other day we received this letter from a tree at the former Jacksonville Landing site:

“Oh, the stories I could tell. I've seen dolphins frolicking, boats gliding and fireworks popping. I've heard neighbors stopping along their walks to say 'hi’ to one another. I love to provide shade and comfort to those who work in busy downtown. Those hot sunny days are unbearable without the large, shaded canopies from me and my fellow trees.

“I cost close to nothing on cleaning and conditioning the air we breathe. On more than one occasion, passersby have said how I and my fellow trees make the neighborhood feel more like home and more hospitable. And for the birds, the pets and squirrels and tiny living things, I offer a comfortable lawn or sidewalk or perch to rest and enjoy the views of our majestic river.

“I've bent to storms, but have not yielded and I've drunk their water, holding back the occasional surge from your homes, your offices, your cafes and your restaurants. I am so excited about the revitalization prospects for our downtown and the many parks and public spaces planned for the riverfront. Please let me be a part of it. I've been here for years just waiting for something wonderful like this to happen and I don’t want to miss it.”

The Late Bloomers Garden Club implores city leaders to protect this tree and our entire downtown tree canopy. With all of the exciting plans for the activation of the river, we must not forget that we already have a number of beautiful, established trees that will provide a lovely foundation for our new parks and the Riverwalk.

We urge our city leaders to plan around as many existing trees as possible and we encourage the planting of numerous, additional hardwood shade trees downtown. Jacksonville is embarking on a generational project to enhance our riverfront. Let’s start by giving the Landing tree — and its neighbors ― a chance to continue providing shade, beauty and resilience.

Then, let's provide it with lots of new friends.

Natalie Rosenberg and Debbie Early, Late Bloomers Garden Club, Jacksonville

Bills deny common humanity

I recently attended a committee hearing in Tallahassee about a bill (originally HB 1223, now HB 1069/SB 1320) that defines sex as only male or female and prohibits K-12 teachers from using pronouns that are different from a student's birth sex. For over an hour, speaker after speaker came to the microphone to state their opinion.

There were students who had known since the age of four that they were different, teachers who wanted to be able to respect differences and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community who see this as a direct denial of their humanity.

Finally, one committee member stated, “we have to protect the students,” despite the fact that numerous students had stood and proclaimed that this would remove what little protection they currently have in school. Then the committee voted along party lines to approve the bill.

The committee’s action provided a dramatic display of the failure to recognize the common humanity we all share. In the past, that failure allowed us to buy, sell and exploit slaves; to eradicate the indigenous population; and to imprison Japanese Americans for no reason other than their ancestry.

It was painful to watch this reenactment of episodes we thought our country had outgrown. After the hearing, people shouted in the halls that this and other similar legislation is only trying to erase them from the ranks of American citizens. They are right.

Patricia DeWitt, retired college administrator, East Arlington/Intracoastal West

‘One nation under God’ needs work (231)

It has been apparent that our country is getting off track in many ways. I read comments that all we need is to bring back God into our lives. I am not into religiosity, but perhaps our nation should remember what God hates.

I happened to open my Bible recently and saw a glaring passage in Proverbs 6:16-19, which listed six things that the Lord hates. Do any of these things relate to current times?

• He hates haughty eyes (pride of self);

• A lying tongue;

• Hands that shed innocent blood;

• A heart that devises wicked schemes;

• Feet that are quick to rush to evil; and

• A false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissention among brothers.

It is obvious that, in recent years, religion and politics do not agree on what constitutes "One nation under God" in terms of honesty, ethics and equal treatment. How far are we, as a nation, going to allow things to continue to fester and degrade what our forefathers drafted in order to form a democracy for the future of a new nation?

If we as a nation want to keep our freedoms, we need to vote, speak up and contact our leaders. We need to regain these values and deny those who would try to take our freedoms away.

Margaret E. Wright, Jacksonville

Restrictions a disservice to all

Reading the Bible doesn’t make you a Christian. Reading the Koran doesn’t make you a Muslim. Reading the U.S. Constitution doesn’t make you a patriot. Reading “Mein Kampf” doesn’t make you a Nazi. Reading Plato doesn’t make you a philosopher. Reading Dagwood doesn’t make you a cartoon. And reading the newspaper doesn’t make you a reporter.

We can all agree that these things are obvious, beyond question.

Why then do we think that reading about gay people will “indoctrinate” our children? Why are we afraid of exposing anyone to ideas that are different from our own? I want to understand white rage, as well as the conditions that brought about slavery. I want to understand why we went to Vietnam and Iraq. I want to understand what it means to be gay.

I want the freedom to recommend books that I've read to my children, without having any stigma attached to them by the state. I want teachers to have the freedom to lead discussions down paths that may not be comfortable, but may add to a child’s understanding of the world. I also want children to have the right to explore ― on their own ― books and stories they may not have previously encountered.

Anything less than that is doing them (and our country) a disservice.

Mike Lawrence, Avondale

Should we close the beaches, too?

As if banning books isn't bad enough, elsewhere in Florida an educator was forced to resign over the famous classic statue by Michelangelo, a must-see for centuries of tourists in Florence, Italy. The cause was a parent who deemed it pornographic.

I often took my elementary gifted students to the Cummer Museum for field trips. Then we'd have a picnic lunch at beautiful Memorial Park down the street. A centerpiece of the park is the unclad being known as "Winged Victory." Under current circumstances, I'd probably be fired for both the museum visit and the picnic lunch in one of our parks — where nudity of some degree is right out in the open for all to see.

Fortunately, the Sistine Chapel and other important works of art are not located in Florida. The NAACP is already threatening a boycott of our state and we certainly don't need to encourage more groups to do so. Soon all that will be left to visit is our beautiful beaches. Oh, wait — there are many scantily clad individuals there.

Gov. DeSantis and his colleagues may think of this as "freedom," but the aftermath may prove it to be just the opposite.

Rhoda London, retired teacher, Jacksonville

Another mass shooting, looser Fla. gun laws

Another mass shooting recently killed three children and three adults. Meanwhile, DeSantis and the Republicans in our state legislature support the permitless carrying of guns, which would not require any background checks, training or fees.

They also want to lower the age for purchasing a gun to 18, eliminating the one reform made after the Parkland shootings that killed 17 people. The goal then was to prevent teenagers — who carry out many of our mass shootings — from being able to purchase guns. Interestingly, in Florida, one cannot drink until age 21, but one may soon be allowed to purchase a gun at 18 with no background check or training.

Will the killing of three children change DeSantis' mind or that of our Republican legislators? Probably not. The lives of our kids apparently mean nothing to them — they only care about the political contributions of the gun lobby.

Terry Bork, Jacksonville

Kudos to Woods and Monroe (130)

I am compelled to send congratulations and a thank you to Mr. Mark Woods and Mr. Nate Monroe. Their March 26 articles about Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature were, in my mind, absolutely the most perceptive, informative and to-the-point articles (in a small amount of space) about the current political climate in the “free state of Florida” that I have seen.

Our state is looking and acting more “third world” every day. I particularly liked the treatise on guns, where the conservative legislature appears to want guns everywhere except where they themselves work. Why would that be? It's unbelievable. Hasn’t anyone else found this strange?

I hope that everyone had a chance to read these two outstanding articles.

Ted Goin, Ponte Vedra Beach

Hypocrisy in gender identity debate (85)

In the United States, a 10-year-old is considered not mentally developed or mature enough to vote, buy alcohol, join the military, purchase a firearm, sign a contract or be sentenced to death for a crime.

But, with the help and encouragement of teachers or administrators, it appears they can decide if they want to be male or female and pursue life-altering medical procedures.

I find the hypocrisy of the left to be appalling, abhorrent and very sad.

George Stringfellow, Jacksonville

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: A plea from the trees — don't forget us in new downtown plans