Dear Editor:
The Republican slogans I see on signs around Greenbrier County confuse me. There is “pro-life” on many of their signs. Gosh, who is not pro-life?
The only ones I can think of, sadly, are some people who are so overcome with depression that they take their lives, mostly with guns; especially veterans, at a rate 1.5% higher than the general population. The Veterans Administration reports that an average of 20 die from suicide per day, again, mostly with guns (67%).
Yet, there are lots of pro-gun slogans on those red signs. My son loves to hunt, yet he doesn’t have guns that were designed only to kill people as he, too, is pro-life. Sensible gun control is supported by 70% of adults in the U.S, yet the gun industry resists anything sensible, so intent are they on keeping up their sales. I find that they do it by flaming fear, fear that you need to protect yourself from criminals ready to jump on your porch to rape & pillage. The last thing they will note is that the U.S. crime rate is at a historically low level.
Another stand R’s tout on their signs is small government. Some of the people who are the loudest about it are getting their income from government, particularly a veteran. Our national defense expenditures are 54% of discretionary federal spending – are they also calling for a smaller military budget? I personally want more efficient government, not a blunt reduction.
Then there is the pro-freedom slogans, which leave me very puzzled when they also want to limit the freedom of women to make their own health care decision. More like “Pro we pick and choose people’s freedom.”
I guess these slogans are code for a particular point of view, thick with contradictions. Can they turn their slogans into plans to make our community thrive? I very much doubt it.
Diane L. Browning
Lewisburg