Modern day Archie Bunkers; action needed on gun control; good riddance, Granlund: Your letters
Modern day Archie Bunkers are irrational about gun control
Mass shootings continue almost weekly across America. Most of these incidents are perpetrated by young males wielding assault rifles. We talk about doing something in response, but nothing ever gets done. Proposals range from arming teachers to banning assault rifles. I don't oppose gun ownership, but I find the thought of arming teachers to be ridiculous.
I am reminded of America's favorite gun-loving bigot Archie Bunker. He was a buffoonish ultra-conservative racist character in a popular satirical sitcom "All in the Family." In a 1972 episode, Archie proposed a plan to solve the skyjacking problem, which was plaguing the airline industry. In his own words, "All you gotta do is arm your passengers. And then your airlines wouldn't have to search the passengers on the ground no more. They just pass out pistols at the beginning of the trip, and they just pick them up at the end. Case closed."
Archie's skyjacker plan couldn't be taken seriously, but it was humorous and we all laughed at the absurdity. I guess humor 50 years ago is not so funny today. However, some modern day Archie Bunkers are just as irrational with regard to arming teachers. Should we have principals pass out pistols every morning as teachers come on duty? And then collect them at the end of the day? When an armed intruder enters the school will there be chaos with multiple teachers firing at perceived targets and actually killing one another? Compare this scenario to Archie Bunker's O.K. Corral in the sky.
Thanks to the Republican Party and the National Rifle Association, America continues to have the best armed mass murderers in the world. Supported by their fanatical defense of the Second Amendment (don't give an inch), the wholesale slaughter of our citizens will continue.
Rick Benting, Redfield
Congress needs to act on gun control
According to a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll, 70% of Americans think new gun restriction laws are more important now than protecting gun ownership rights. This level of agreement should shatter the partisan gridlock in Washington.
And though there is no poll data to support this, 0% of Americans, save perhaps those doing the shooting and killing, are in favor of the now seemingly one-a-day mass shootings that are traumatizing this country. This unanimity should transcend the partisan divide in Washington.
Clearly the wrong kinds of people are getting ahold of the wrong kinds of guns. Knowing this is the easy part, fixing it will be the hard part. That can only begin with Congress, which has an overwhelming mandate to do so or to at least do something besides bickering and passing the buck instead of passing common sense gun restriction laws.
Do something.
Douglass Carter, Aberdeen
Good riddance to Granlund editorial cartoons!
Thank you, American News, for removing Dave Granlund from the editorial cartoon rotation. Irreverent humor, keen social commentary and thought provocation are all qualities absent from Mr. Granlund's work. When reliable lefty Granlund isn't creating lame holiday related cartoons, he's producing a smiling Biden-Harris on Nov. 9, 2020, that looked as if they'd commissioned it themselves.
Years ago, former editor J.J. Perry challenged readers to submit locally themed editorial cartoons. Perry ran several of mine, with the last one provoking a prolific letter writer to call for his termination, thus concluding the printing of locally submitted cartoons.
When a newspaper story focused on lower test scores at Central High School, a cartoon featuring three guys at a bar was submitted. The first patron mentions the lower scores, the second (a disheveled liberal hippie) suggests raising taxes again to hike teacher pay even more, causing the third to holler "Barkeep! This fella's had enough!" Perry declined.
When Marsy's Law created information havoc, a cartoon representing a newspaper clipping with police seeking the public's help solving a crime was submitted. The "Marsyal Law" article began: "Someone, somewhere, did something..." Perry declined.
Thereafter, it became much more prudent to submit ideas for Perry's rejection. When police refused to release the business' name that allowed a skimmer on their gas pumps, how about the phrase "To serve and protect business" on a patrol vehicle? When an ag merger produced an unimpressive name, how about an observer saying, "I guess all the good names were Agtaken"? No to both, of course.
Hopefully Granlund's renderings have gone the way of local cartoons. If, however, Dave Granlund's absence is due to his untimely passing, then my condolences are in order. Dave Granlund was a tremendous talent who'll be sorely missed. That was sarcasm, Dave.
Dan Oliver, Aberdeen
Why the evangelical loyalty to Trump?
One of the sickest enigmas in today's politics is the evangelical loyalty to one of the most evil men on the planet, a man who grew up in the lap of luxury and who has spent his entire life lying, cheating, kissing foreign enemy dictators' posteriors and pompously tooting his own horn, a man who hates democracy and spits on our constitution.
Can anyone imagine Jesus voting for Donald Trump? Bible thumpers would be hard pressed to find justification for their actions in that book!
Terry Painter, Rapid City
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Letter writers sound off on gun control, Donald Trump, Dave Granlund
