Letters: On repenting historical wrongs, criminal fines, littering
Repenting historical wrongs is part of Christianity
It has been said that those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it. To be ignorant of, ignore, or deny evil is to perpetuate it. It condemns us to accept things as they are and believe that change is not possible. Governor Stitt and Mr. Walters are concerned that children might feel guilty or uncomfortable knowing about wrongs and evils done by their nation in the past (like they do not have access to The History Channel). So-called critical race theory, real or imagined, is a common target for that belief. This idea shows great ignorance of history and religious thought, as though they never read the Bible.
The life of faith involves continual repentance ("turn back" in Hebrew) from bad to good. If you read the prophets in the Bible, you will see the strong condemnations of the sins of people and nations. Despite these transgressions, you also read of God's mercy and plans for a better future. People who attend worship participate in a common confession of sins. The confession is made in the belief that God's mercy is eternal and that God's power enables repentants to change themselves and their nation. Recognition of sin necessary for a Christian life contributes to humility and the determination to change.
"Reformed and always reforming" is necessary for any worshipping community and nation. One great thing about America is its history of correcting many of its wrongs and improving as a nation. It is inspiring for children to learn that wrongs can be corrected. It encourages them as good citizens and patriots to participate in efforts to improve the nation for all. Prophets have always led in making change for the good. Often people on the wrong side of history were not evil but simply accepted their culture. A culture taken for granted can cause great evil. Witness Nazi Germany.
Students can learn to look beyond just their little world. The blessing of a diverse society is that individuals can learn thinking skills to help them change aspects of their society that are harmful to others. The power of social and cultural forces can lead people into numerous evils, again witnessing Nazi Germany. If you don't know what has been or is being done, you can't "turn back." A healthy moral society recognizes historical and current wrongs, some being the effects of past wrongs. This is also true of individuals. It is called humility.
Christian action changes (repentance) toward the good. A sense of guilt or discomfort in this form is not bad but Christian and is the basis for continuing improvement of oneself and society. In this manner, our children learn, experience, two of the Lord's greatest gifts, mercy and forgiveness. To deny this is to deny repentance-the Christian life. It is to deny the Lord by rejecting belief in the mercy and forgiveness he always promised. It is heresy. God loved the "world" (John 3:16). The "world" obviously includes all groups. God does not show partiality or favoritism (Deuteronomy 11:17, Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11, Ephesians 6:9) because, all human beings are equally created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27).
— The Rev. John E. Karlin, Ph.D., Yukon
Oklahoma's system of fees and fines is broken
A front-page article in the Jan. 9 edition of The Oklahoman told the story of Mary Cox, a working single mom who incurred a $138 fine for driving with an expired license only to see it snowball into a $10,000 fine, a jail sentence, and a loss of home and job. Mary’s story illustrates the confusing, complex, and severely broken system of fines and fees here in Oklahoma.
Mary’s story is one case that can be multiplied by thousands here in Oklahoma. Readers may be rightfully alarmed at how such a fine can escalate with such negative consequences that profoundly impact a person’s life and family.
VOICE (Voices Organized in Civic Engagement) first called this issue to public light over 10 years ago. VOICE action teams have educated public officials and the general public through community forums, accountability sessions for candidates, testifying for legislative interim studies and mobilizing VOICE members to effective legislative advocacy to address the issue.
VOICE research shows the gap between fines and fees assessed and collected has only widened since the 1960s; evidence of the brokenness of this system. What’s more, there is no statewide system for people to access information on how much and in which counties they owe fines and fees.
A mostly impoverished population of Oklahomans is expected to fund critical services of the county and state government. Thousands of Oklahomans are living with overwhelming debt, often preventing them from obtaining jobs and making the path back to productive community membership all the more difficult.
The evidence is clear: (1) fund courts through the state budget and (2) develop a statewide computer system that allows people to know how much they owe in fines and fees statewide. The upcoming legislative session is an opportunity to make progress toward addressing both of these areas of need. We urge lawmakers to do so.
— Diane Koorie, Oklahoma City
Litter is out of control in OKC, and it's trashing our reputation
I am a proud resident of Oklahoma City and have been most of my life. I've had the opportunity to live in other cities during my life and to travel extensively. Those experiences have helped to open my eyes to other communities and witness how those communities are maintained. As proud as I am of the community we have built from self-taxing through MAPS, I've never been more disappointed and frustrated at the amount of trash and litter I see daily traveling around this city. I ask that the city and the leadership make a more aggressive attempt to combat this trash problem. People must be more conscientious when driving open-bed trucks with their products and loose trash blowing around. We need the city to send out more trash pickup crews and street sweepers, and we need more people like myself to speak out and bring attention to this problem. It's great having a developing city like ours to live in, but the litter is out of control.
— Michael S. Hinchey, Oklahoma City
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Letters: On repenting historical wrongs, criminal fines, littering
