In response
The Star published a few letters from concerned citizens about Chiefs players drinking alcohol during their Super Bowl victory parade. I would like to offer a rebuttal to those letters:
Shut up.
– Vince DeMatta Olate
The response from the author of this letter is quick and to the point.
Think about the future
I know from experience that there is no point in shaming people. That said, I think it makes a huge difference when we prepare people. In this case, a playbook for a true champion might help. I think this is what many community members who love their bosses are trying to say.
It’s not just incredible play on the pitch, but the opportunity to be true role models off the pitch that will define our players and our team.
One day, each of us looks back. So I can only ask our players: Is this how you want your kids and fans to remember you?
This weekend I attended the semi-finals of the English Language Union’s National Shakespeare Competition for high school students. These young performers were able to take the stage, so command it and the audience’s respect, it was exhilarating not only for the students, but for their audience as well. Is there a lesson here?
We love our bosses, but to gain lasting respect for role models, it may take more than what we saw at the Super Bowl parade.
Be as prepared off the pitch as you are on the pitch. I say this with love and care. Come on Chiefs.
– Annie Newcomer, Prairie Village
Close to home
Mary Coffman recently wrote in a letter to the editor, “I hope the 67th Michigan State University mass shooting of 2023 is one that will finally compel our elected officials to take action.” (February 16, 12A)
Mary, I don’t think our elected officials will act unless and until They children or loved ones are victims.
– Linda B. Lyon, Kansas City
Traveler signals
After reading the article regarding passengers who took part in a simulation at the new Kansas City International Airport terminal last week (February 17, 1A, “KCI Airport’s New Single Terminal Gets a Test Drive “), I urge the Kansas City Aviation Department to listen to the information of passengers like Keith Johnson who said that “signs will need to be changed to help travelers navigate the terminal.” A follow-up comment said that could change as people become more familiar with the new terminal.
We have to look at every point between the terminal entrance and exit and the gates from the point of view of someone who has never been there. The greatest frustrations at the old terminals came from those arriving in Kansas City for the first time.
-Pamela Powell Beltone
Support Ukraine
On a recent visit to the Truman Library and Museum – our first visit since the renovation – I saw a plaque that rings so true today.
In 1946, George Kennan, an American diplomat to Russia, helped make Russian containment a key foreign policy goal for Truman. He wrote in a State Department telegram that Soviet aggression was driven by insecurity and indifference to negotiations. Must be “content”. Soviet leaders were “impervious to the logic of reason”, yet they were “highly motivated by the logic of force”.
I think most Americans hate the war in Ukraine, but the longer it continues, the more its support in Congress will decline. Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to rebuild the Russia he remembers from the Cold War years, and anyone who pays attention to the media coverage of the war should understand the kind of atrocities the Russians have inflicted on the civilians of Ukraine.
I ask all of us to stand united in helping the people of Ukraine defeat Russian aggression, be it monetary support, prayers or otherwise. Write to your representatives in Washington, DC, to indicate your support.
-Richard Moore Freedom
from Wall to wall
Life is like wallpaper: too many choices for the rich and too few for the less well-off.
– Joan Harrison Kansas City
