Dear Editor:

We often take quotes by world leaders to hold real wisdom and believe they will stand the test of time. Often, that may be true, but demands of the time period require change. Let’s discuss this one:

“If you’re not a liberal at twenty, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative at forty you have no brain.” -Winston Churchill

While it may be true that older people tend to grow a little more conservative on life choices, it’s not necessarily true in politics. To give this a political party meaning is farfetched. It also may be true that our conservative friends added to the quote.

Paul Addison of Edinburgh University makes this comment: “Surely Churchill can’t have used the words attributed to him. He’d been a conservative at 15 and a liberal at 35.”

Whether Churchill said this or not isn’t important because the concept is too one sided for today. In our world, we must learn to use our heart and mind both for important decisions and be able to do so when we are young and old. The new buzz words in education are 21st century skills which includes advanced use of technology higher level thinking skills to evaluate and make better judgments, and synthesize what is learned into use in their daily life. I believe Churchill would love this concept.

One quote I’m sure he did say was: “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” He believed democracy was the best form of government. Churchill also knew that true democracy requires a thinking public, one that cannot be bought or lead astray by propaganda or fear.

If you look around today you will see all three running amok. Fear became bigger than reason in 2000 with Y2K. People were scared to death and began storing supplies for the disaster. When nothing happened, they were silent about their folly. When fear reigns, it’s not long before you have a real enemy to fear as we did one year later on Sept. 11.

When we are afraid, we cannot use wisdom in judgment. Without wisdom, we all suffer. One thing you can bank on, when everyone is scared and attacking each other, the real enemy, greed, will be taking advantage of the situation.

Bernie Madoff took more than 30 billion dollars by fraud. Big banks, oil, gas, and coal companies, insurance and pharmaceutical companies all had record profits. The greed for more put our whole country in jeopardy. Twenty four years of tax regulations allowed the middle class to shrunk while the rich became billionaires, but that wasn’t enough. Risky speculation caused some to fail while others with smarter leadership just got richer even while we suffered with heavy gas prices and unseen costs.

Who are you listening to now? Are you blindly following propaganda again? For the sake of your kids, you had better start learning about issues instead of getting scared into poor choices. Let’s look at propaganda you are being fed right now in southern West Virginia.

On Labor Day there will be an event called “The Friends of America”. This event is hosted by Don Blankenship of Massey Energy. He says “America’s working families are under attack from several fronts. America’s job providers and American workers must rally together and let our voices be heard. We are proud to provide Central Appalachia with good paying jobs that cannot be outsourced and we will continue to fight to make sure they aren’t taxed or regulated out of existence.”

It sounds good, doesn’t it? Look closer.

Those evil regulations like mine safety regulations passed to protect the workers or environmental regulations that were passed to protect our water, are those really bad? It was 24 years of deregulation that got our nation in such a mess. Listen to what Don said. You are under attack. Remember fearful people make poor decisions. “Good paying jobs” he says. He’s offering you security. How many of you coal miners had 20 years of work at a mine and found yourself unemployed a few years later? Is there any real security as a coal miner? Then rally to fight. Fight whom? At the event there will be others there to stir up your emotions and fears.

I’m sure they will be calling unions, democrats, and environmentalists terms such as reds, communists, and anti-Americans. The entertainment for the event says it all. Among these voices will be the Vietnam draft dodger Ted Nugent. I wonder if he will once again come onstage with his AK-47s ranting obscenities about Barack Obama and HIllary Clinton. If you think this is a lie, videos can be found on the internet. Another time he said “Fascists must be eliminated”. Great entertainment for our children. He often ends with a cry of “Freedom”. How American of him. If he had been brave enough to use those guns in Vietnam, we may have won.

Also onstage will be country singer Hank Williams, Jr. Maybe he’ll sing “Why do I drink and why do I roll smoke? It’s just a family tradition.” Teachers, how’s that for an excuse? Or maybe the union MTR miners will join him in the lyrics “...union against the worker, working against his will”. I’m sure your union granddads would love that.

Do you see this event for what it really is? Sean Hannity being there should identify it as a republican rally. Eight years wasn’t enough; they want more. One other question, who is paying for this event?

Many coal and republican supporters are, but do you know Logan and Mingo County commissions, even though led by democrats, are listed as supporters? Does this mean they donated our tax money to the rally? The Mingo Redevelopment Authority is also listed as a supporter. They were created to move us beyond coal, not to support it.

I am not against coal. I’m against propaganda, greed, hate, and lies. We need to deep mine the coal instead of flooding our homes with MTR mining. It will last longer, but it will cost the coal company more money to mine it that way and believe me, money is what this is all about.