Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to [email protected] or sent online at okgazette.com. Include a city of residence and contact number for verification.
Frenemies?
How many Americans are fully aware of our relationship with Iran over the past 65 years? For instance, how many know that the U.S.-CIA and the UK-MI9 jointly overthrew the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosadegh in 1953 and then installed Shah Reza Palhavi as ruler? The shah was infamous for his use of SAVAK (a secret police unit) to keep political opponents tortured, imprisoned or dead.
When the seriously ill shah was invited to the U.S. in 1979 for treatment, it was no surprise that his government was overthrown. The Iranians, suffering under 26 years of the shah’s despotism and angry at the U.S. for complicity, surprised few observers when they took our embassy people captive and held them for 444 days before releasing them unharmed.
Is it not both sad and ironic that our government is responsible for the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran and the coming to power of Ayatollah Khomeini?
— Frank Silovsky Oklahoma City
Commentary kerfuffle
I compared Robin Meyers’ view (Commentary, “Lessons learned, lessons forgotten,” April 15, Oklahoma Gazette) of the Oklahoma City bombing with Adam Soltani’s (Commentary, “Hope springs from tragedy,” April 15, Gazette).
Meyers said, “Tragedy temporarily transforms human beings,” while Soltani said, “Out of all evil comes good.”
My opinion is that tragedy brings out the good in some human beings, but no good comes from evil.
Meyers emphasizes that Oklahomans are too “ignorant” to realize that Christians and right-wingers are the ultimate example of hate, fear and discrimination.
Soltani uses the bombing to bring attention to ignorance, bias and prejudice assigned to Christians while whitewashing the extremist massacres of his own faith.
One other interesting point was the statement by Meyers, “You can lose your life just by going to work.”
It is sad that many innocents lost their life at work that day, but I wonder why no one gets upset about the thousands who lose their lives on the way to or from work. There. Even I used the bombing for my own interests.
— Michael Moberly Mustang
Fix schools
More options for those who are self-aware and lucky enough to be able to choose them is not a solution to a damaged school system, yet that is exactly the kind of system ESAs create and that Brandon Dutcher supported in his commentary (Commentary, “An argument for education choice,” March 4, Gazette).
The state’s public school system is broken, especially in OKC. Is it any wonder more people living in the city would prefer not to use public schools?
If you want to provide a better education to children, fix the schools, as they are the one option every child everywhere can use. Not every parent has time to homeschool, and charter schools cannot be built fast enough to house every public school student.
The ESAs are a life raft that cannot hold everyone on the boat, and that boat is sinking.
Is fixing the public school system more difficult than the peeling bandage that is the ESA? Yes, but it is a necessary change that must occur in order to ensure that Oklahoma’s children are able to live full and fulfilling lives.
Stop bemoaning the state of education in Oklahoma, and do something about it. Fund the system so it can care for the students.
— Autumn Slaughter Bethany
