March 18, 2024

Letters 12-14-2014

Dec. 13, 2014
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Come Together

There is a time-honored war strategy known as "divide and conquer," and never has it been more effective than now. The enemy is using it against us through television, internet and other social media. I opened a Facebook account a couple of years back to gain more entries in local contests. Since then I had fallen under its spell; I rushed into judgment on several social issues based on information found on those pages.

The enemy had followed me there, and the enemy was myself!

Fourteen years ago, we stood as one as the Twin Towers fell, the Pentagon was attacked, and a quiet field in Pennsylvania was turned into a mass graveyard. We stood as one against terrorism. Today we are at each other’s throats, and terrorists are now hunting us through social media. The sites that brought us together are now tearing us apart. Divide and conquer? Do we look united to you?

I am guilty of it’s seduction, but I am beginning to see once more with fresh eyes, and what I see sickens me. It is for that reason that I have closed my Facebook account.

I won’t be missed, I think. I guess if anyone wants to reach me, they can do it the old fashioned way: call or write an email. I still love getting Christmas Cards! I am reminded of a comment my wife made recently about all this "sharing". She said "Isn’t that what phone calls, reunions and family gatherings are for?"

I thanked my Facebook friends for the wonderful times we shared together and I hope to see them out in the real world.

Ted Roney, Kingsley

Quiet The Phones!

This weekend we attended two beautiful Christmas musical events and the enjoyment of both were significantly diminished by self-absorbed boors holding their stupid iPhones high overhead to capture extremely crucial and highly needed photos. We too own iPhones, but during a public concert we possess the decency and manners to leave them turned off and/or at home. Today’s performance, the annual Messiah Sing at Traverse City’s Central Methodist Church, was a new low: we watched as Mr. Self-Absorbed not only took several photos but then afterwards immediately posted them to his Facebook page. We were dumbfounded.

It only takes one thoughtless clod to ruin an experience for a lot of people – is it so difficult to stop and ask yourself (a) Is this photo absolutely necessary?, and (b) Am I the only person in this room? We’ll save you some time by assuring you that the answer to both is a solid and emphatic, "NO."

If this behavior describes you, stop it. If you’re considering bringing your incredibly distracting glowing screen digital camera or phone (or iPad!) to an upcoming event, don’t. Oh, and when there is an actual pre-performance request that no photos be taken that actually does refer to you, too. Really.

Matt McCormick, Traverse City

A Torturous Defense

In defense of the C.I.A.’s use of torture in a mostly fruitless search for vital information, some suggest that the dire situation facing us after 9-11, justified the use of torture even at the expense of the potential loss of much of our nation’s moral authority.

Many of these same defenders of torture would deny the use of situational ethics as a justification for abortion following a conception by rape, proclaiming that "murder is murder." regardless of the situation.

If we are to ignore the moral compass provided by the use of situational ethics in the one instance, then we must, in the name of consistency, ignore it in every instance. So, if murder is murder, then torture is torture.

Bob Ross, Pellston

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