Letters to the editor Oct. 30

Shaping narratives

Ben Long’s opinion piece of Oct. 23 (Ban this book now) is a classic straw man argument.

He reviewed several Biblical events with the goal of eliciting outrage from readers and thus, they would accept his agenda as mild in comparison. The problem is that either he has a very pronounced reading or comprehension deficiency or he’s simply a sinister, manipulative liar.

The underlying reason is that all of his tellings of Biblical events are deeply flawed. God’s prophet Elisha (not Elijah) cursed the youths (not children) because they mocked him and God. The two bears mauled them but did not kill them. Sodom (and Gomorrah} was destroyed because of the inhabitants’ wickedness and depravity: “... sexual immorality and perversion.” Jude 2: 7, not simply oral sex. Brother killing brother and other nasty events earned God’s punishment and were never condoned, much less celebrated.

Long’s reporting of other events is highly inaccurate, always done in a mocking tone. Promoting questionable literature and lifestyles for young children is frankly evil, especially during the hormonal upheaval time of puberty. Throwing gender identity issues at them during this time is very confusing. Society’s often disparaged view of boys being boys and doing boy things and girls doing girl things has worked to guide young people for thousands of years.

Recent rises in suicide rates, school shootings, and general unrest have been born of the “woke” agenda. Resource media’s stated goal is to drive social change, and from what I see, that would be leftist change and shaping conversations toward that goal. Some gradual social change is laudable; other changes are destructive and must be resisted.

If Long’s article is an example of “shaping narratives that broaden the conversations driving change,” those of us who are not “woke” better keep alert for the wolf at the door!

— Gary Goers, Kalispell

Whitefish traffic

Whitefish has probably the worst traffic congestion and poorest roads in the entire valley. Traffic on Baker and Wisconsin was intolerable last winter, is terrible now, and will be horrendous this winter.

But rather than tackle these challenging problems, our City Council has recently decided to spend $2 million to beautify the viaduct. Not only that, they admit they have no idea where the money will come from. According to the planning document, only $300,000 is currently allocated, yet our City Council voted to approve the plan and charge ahead.

Read the plan. Rather than improving traffic flow, this plan will intentionally slow traffic on the viaduct, causing even more congestion, and further reduce the quality of life for residents, especially those living north of the viaduct. Shouldn’t we be trying to move as much traffic as possible through the viaduct bottleneck instead of expanding bike lanes and installing fancy fencing and lighting.

Replacing the slip lane at the intersection of Railway Street and Baker with curb extensions (bulb outs) is a terrible idea. Its current configuration prevents backup on Railway, especially during heavy traffic times. Eliminating it means that a single vehicle trying to turn left onto Baker will hold up everyone who would ordinarily merge smoothly going north. Especially concerning is the impact on larger vehicles, as noted in the planning document. This takes what is now a well-designed intersection and turns it into a disaster.

Traffic has become the biggest problem in our town and should be our top priority. This project not only doesn’t address that, it will make things worse. And for 2 million imaginary dollars? Surely, we have a lot more important things to spend that money on.

— Rick Packard, Whitefish

Let’s go Biden!

People keep underestimating Joe Biden and he just keeps delivering.

Thank you, President Biden, for reaching an agreement with workers and their unions and avoiding a national rail strike.

Thank you for hiring qualified women and qualified people of color within your administration and to new federal judgeships.

Thank you for lowering the cost of hearing aids, ending price gouging for life-saving insulin, and reducing student debt for so many Americans.

Thank you also for uniting NATO and masterfully handling the Russia invasion of Ukraine. Critical to this effort: how you have helped Ukraine with intelligence and weapons, despite opposition from those in America working against the success of your presidency.

What a difference your presidency is in strengthening alliances and demonstrating that America can be a force for good as compared to the prior presidency and its brand of authoritarianism.

You are right, sir, “when we stand united…we can prevent acts of hate and violence.” I believe in honesty, decency, respect for others, patriotism, liberty, and justice. You have restored my hope and my faith in our democratic republic. Well done President Biden!

— Gina Benesh, Kalispell