EDITOR’S NOTE: Letters will be accepted for the Open Forum for publication in the next available issue after receipt. Letters may be sent to Forest Lake Times, 146 N. Lake St., Suite 125, Forest Lake, or by e-mail to ryan.howard@ecm-inc.com. Letters should not exceed 250 words and must be signed with the writer’s name, address and telephone number. Deadline is noon Monday. The newspaper reserves the right to edit letters and assure that rules of libel and good taste are not violated.
A necessary conversation
Violence in society is such an important conversation. You captured the definition of violence in your April 23 editorial when you said, “violence steals opportunity and innocence from our children.” More importantly, it robs opportunity from us all. A happy life is one where we’re given opportunity to participate. Our happiness is found in forever giving gratitude for that opportunity. Our suffering is found in our failures to participate and in our actions/inactions that rob others of opportunity. When we indefinitely imprison people, how are we giving them opportunity? It certainly brings to the forefront the spiritual virtues of compassion, gratitude and forgiveness. We all heal as we heal one another. The foundation of the Golden Rule carries this mandate: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Your editorial topic is on the heels of the 18th year for the Gandhi King Season for Nonviolence, which focuses on the goal of attaining peace through nonviolent action as demonstrated by legendary leaders Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Noam Chomsky says there’s violence behind all attempts to change another when that change hasn’t been requested. It’s a radical concept, but as we approach another election year, it gives me pause to examine how our political process steals opportunity to participate. Perhaps our greatest nonviolent act is to aim to understand one another, listen more/speak less, and see how we can create more opportunities for participation in the welfare of all, from our families to the global family.
Randy Johnson
Forest Lake
Take time to pray
Recently, I heard Congressman Randy Forbes of Virginia talk about the Congressional Prayer Caucus that he started at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. He stated that the Congressional Prayer Caucus members meet regularly as a bipartisan group that prays for our country, for each other, for legislative bills and for us, the American citizens. You can get more information at forbes.house.gov/prayercaucus.
If our Congressional leaders take time to pray for us, can we not spend time praying for them as well? Please join us May 7 for Forest Lake’s 25th National Day of Prayer. We will meet at the Forest Lake American Legion on 355 Broadway Avenue from noon to 1 p.m. We will be praying for our country, government officials, military, churches, families and youth. There will be refreshments and a time of fellowship after the service. For more information, call Diane at 464-2319 or Holly at 464-7480.
Holly Payer
co-chair, Forest Lake National Day of Prayer
Are we improving?
Your April 23 commentary on violence in society reminded me of an incident that occurred in White Bear Lake years ago when I was young. A little boy died, and it was chronicled in the book, “A Death in White Bear.”
He was adopted and abused by his adoptive mother, who was tried and convicted years after the death. The point is, many people in the community knew of the abuse and did nothing about it. Perhaps they were following the Chinese proverb, “Save someone’s life, and they are your responsibility forever”!
Or perhaps these people were waiting for someone else to take action. I believe that this attitude may have changed on 9/11, when the passengers on one of the hijacked planes took matters into their own hands. Subsequent episodes have warranted this assumption; people who display suspicious behavior have more to fear from their fellow passengers than they do from an air marshal.
It’s a coincidence that emergency calls are made dialing 911, and it would be interesting to see if use of those numbers has increased since that fateful day. It would also be useful to know if more calls are made by concerned neighbors and friends of people who are in trouble. If that is the case, it could be that we are becoming more caring citizens.
Tom Obst
Forest Lake
Prayer is important
It’s been 25 years, but it seems like yesterday that 20 of us met for the first time to pray for our country at the old city hall. Our event coincided with the first Thursday of May being declared as the National Day of Prayer by past presidents.
We grew from a few to a large group at Lakeside Park (often with cool weather) to a much larger group currently meeting at the American Legion.
We have seen in these years our country’s morals and spiritual roots eroding, family life disintegrating, our politicians at great odds and very few leaders taking a stand for God.
It is a crucial time for us individually to seek God’s intervention for the challenges facing us. We need to pray not only for our leaders, but for our churches, military, family, schools, media and world.
Let us pray as a nation that we would return to God, believing he hears our prayers and can heal our land for which our forefathers fought.
Please join us in prayer May 7 as we celebrate 25 years.
Diane Rueb
co-chair, Forest Lake National Day of Prayer