Letters 01-04-2016

Jan. 1, 2016

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"Grow Up"

In the Dec. 21 issue, Thomas Kachadurian writes that attempts to alleviate hunger and poverty (you know, as in sunday school: "feed the hungry,clothe the poor, care for the sick") are childish fantasies like the belief in Santa Claus. And for good measure he also includes pacifism, gun control, government aid programs and religious tolerance.

It’s a good thing at Christmas we have Kachadurian to ward us off from becoming too damned charitable for our own good. For the gullible meek and the shiftless poor just might inherit some square footage of earth in a potter’s field they’re not entitled to. And as for the rest of us, we are mere babes in the woods. We don’t have "divine power" (as he so astutely observes) to see our pitfalls, but we are fortunate nonetheless. Though we may be as children – speaking, thinking and behaving as such – by heeding Kachadurian’s dire counsel we become grown-ups, forsaking childish ways of faith, hope and charity and seeing the world through the dark glass of adult frailty, fallibility, deviousness and perversity. We shed downy feathers, accrete armor like scales, and then slouch our way towards Bethlehem.

So grow up, go forth in fear and trembling, be wary of the strangers among us, limit those generous impulses, be armed, fear Muslims, set the deadbolts and be ready for lock down. Good luck this holiday season a la Thomas Kachadurian.

Allen McCullough, Interlochen

No Sympathy For Merchant Class

I would like to respond to the "help wanted" letter about local businesses. Perhaps our region’s merchant class would benefit by reading The Walmart Effect; it’s a bit dated, but it applies. And it does so painfully.

With some new knowledge, the gentleman and his cabal of peers would finally appreciate what they are up against. From my own experience in retail (40 years ago), a very modest but respectable and dignified living could be made as a retail employee. This snotty old adage is now truer than it was when I entered adult life nearly 42 years ago. If you pretend to pay someone a living wage, expect them to pretend to work for it. In regards to our younger generation, if an employer expects an employee to be productive, reliable and represent the business, then it is the employer’s responsibility to provide them with the training, encouragement and praise they require. The employer, after all, has a vested interest.

And no, Mr. Merchant, I do not believe our education system should offer retail employment training. That is your responsibility.

With irregular part-time work hours, no premium for weekends, evenings, or holidays, retail is not a modest, dignified means of employment; it is a dead end. Employers small and large demand all, and give nothing. They drive to and from work in high-end cars to high-end houses, but have no interest in leading, encouraging, training and praise.

We have no right to expect much from the younger generation. They are, after all, a product of ours.

Martin C. Meyer, Antrim County

Don’t Generalize About Millennials

In its Dec. 14 issue, the Northern Express published a letter from a local business owner which blamed the large number of local help wanted signs on "young millennials’ poor or non-existent work ethic and/or their refusal to show up on time and do what is expected."

While I cannot speak for all millennials, I did want to provide a counter-narrative. I work at a specialty store in downtown Traverse City and myself and four of my coworkers are all millennials. Between the five of us we balance eight full- and part-time jobs, a significant college course load, grad school applications, and volunteer work, not to mention our responsibilities to our families and friends.

One of our coworkers routinely works over seventy hours in one week and many of us pull daily double shifts or go weeks without a day off. I know for a fact that we are not unique in this.

To insinuate that millennials are on the whole lazy, unreliable, and lack any sense of work ethic is a gross generalization and, frankly, ageist and insulting. Bottom line: We work hard, too. The mystery of the helpwanted signs is not one that can be solved by pointing fingers. It’s a problem that requires input from all sides and mutual respect and understanding between business owners and the young people they employee.

Elizabeth Myers, Traverse City

A Modest Proposal Indeed

I very much enjoyed Grant Parson’s column, "A Modest Proposal" in the Dec. 20 issue of Northern Express. His proposal which was spot on, and indeed very modest, suggesting that the conditions imposed on a woman seeking an abortion be applied to an individual seeking to purchase an assault weapon.

In order to highlight the extreme modesty of his proposal, I would suggest that the reader imagine sitting in a darkened movie theatre between a pregnant woman considering an abortion, and an individual with an assault weapon.

First I would ask, "Which of these persons frighten you the most?" Then, "Which of these persons should have undergone the most extensive screening procedures?" And finally, "Which of these persons should be granted the freedom of choice in their decision?" Your choice!

Bob Ross, Pellston

Senator Peters Misinformed

Senator Gary Peters made a fool out of himself at a subcommittee meeting recently when he sited the Law of Conservation of Energy, saying, "additional heat does not just magically disappear, it makes the planet warmer." He clearly was absent on the day his sixth grade teacher explained the First Law of Thermodynamics.

True, heat does not disappear, but nature can easily convert it to other forms of energy. This is the level of ignorance that is making policy for us in Washington. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Does Mr. Peters know that, according to satellite data, the temperature of the planet has increased by only 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since the year 1850? This is because our marvelous earth is self-correcting. The Seas, the Sun, the atmosphere, and the plants all work together to regulate our beautiful planet. Sunspots and volcanoes affect the climate far more than all the SUVs combined. And yet the earth is able to accommodate such events by self-adjusting with other variables like water vapor that reflect the sun’s rays, bringing cooling.

Mr. Peters would do well to go back to his old job, running the numbers racket for the mob, er, the State of Michigan.

RD Johnson, Gilmore Township

My Story Of Climate Change

Climate change is here. Although no single weather event can be attributed directly to a climate trend, the increasing number and intensity of these storms can.

My own story is a mix of facts and fear. Returning from our family reunion, my sister and I engaged in a philosophical discussion about climate change.

I told her that I felt it was a question of when, not if, a climate related storm would affect me personally. We parted ways. As I drove home, I noticed the sky. I had never seen anything like it. A few minutes later, traffic had pulled off the road as driving became impossible in the blinding rain.

Frozen in my swaying car, I watched tree branches, then a big yellow road sign fly across the road. When I got home, I saw I was luckier than some of my neighbors. So just after declaring it a question of when not if, it was my turn to experience the effects of climate change.

NOAA data show that the frequency and intensity of storms is growing in the U.S. and worldwide. In their words, "Climate change threatens human health and well-being in many ways, including through more extreme weather events and wildfire, decreased air quality, and diseases transmitted by insects, food, and water."

The evidence of global warming today has become all too clear. The Paris agreement is a good beginning. We must press our leaders into action that matches their words. Clean energy is a must.

Barbara Stamiris, Traverse City

Not Talking About It

Recently many of us have watched a stage full of Republican debaters thump their chests, rattle their imaginary sabers, glower directly into the camera, and promise our enemies death and destruction, all in the interests of national security. But we hear nothing about climate change.

Didn’t the Pentagon – the Department of Defense – within the last few years survey the threats to our national security and then name climate change as the main threat?

Upton Sinclair was right when he wrote: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it."

To be more specific: "It is difficult to get a man to talk about something when his nomination depends on his not talking about it."

Ron Tschudy, Central Lake

Real Renewable Progress

Well done, Wolverine Power Cooperative and member organizations Cherryland, Great Lakes Energy, PIE&G, and others. Wolverine recently announced it will source approximately 30 percent of its power supply from renewable sources by 2017. The wind power will be supplied from the Deerfield Wind Project in Huron County and the Michigan Wind 3 Project in Sanilac County. This commitment far exceeds Michigan’s goal of 10 percent renewables met this year. That’s leadership.

The move reflects shifting economic realities. Just two years ago, Wolverine cancelled plans to build a large coal plant in Rogers City. As the economics for solar and wind continue to become more favorable, momentum is building for Michigan to source 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050. The Michigan Conservative Energy Forum and others groups have been working to build support for clean energy solutions. The Detroit Zoo is now totally powered by renewables. Crystal Mountain has been recognized for setting the standard for resorts in energy efficiency. Michigan-based ZeroBase Energy LLC, a builder of microgrids abroad, now sees opportunity here at home. We can have our own success stories across northern Michigan both for renewables and for energy efficiency.

The average Michigan home uses 38 percent more energy than the U.S. average. That means significant opportunities to save money and conserve energy at the same time. Switching to LED light bulbs, having an energy audit, or replacing that old refrigerator or furnace are just some of the ways to begin.

Faith leaders around the world, inspired by Pope Francis’ example, are speaking out on the moral imperative of swift action to address climate change. It’s also in our best interest.

Rev. Deb Hansen, Levering

Zero Tolerance

In response to Jack Segal’s column from the Dec. 21 Northern Express regarding "Tolerance and Free2Choos," has Mr. Segal ever heard the term "zero tolerance?" It is highly disturbing that an educated individual would allow the gallering neo- Nazis outside a peaceful Jewish faith assembly while threatening innocent people. Many who know the horrors of Hitler and his Nazi regime will be intolerant of such interferences. Some are still living who remember it like yesterday, while they watched their family members being slaughtered only because they were Jewish.

I hold zero tolerance for those who bully others or molest, incest, rape, murder, intimidate, oppress and otherwise are dangerously bigoted. Each person is definitely Free2Choose their own opinions, hopefully with opinions that are well informed and educated. How they act is another matter entirely.

Charlene Verschaeve, Cedar