What has happened since 9/11? What has happened to all those great American flags that flew from cars, houses, business places, on the backs of jackets, shirts, etc. Americans seem to have lost the patriotic feeling.
I still have an American flag flying from my house and I still have one on my car. I can find my car in the parking lots of shopping centers, or on the street, very easily. It seems that I am the only one that has a flag on the car, and it stands out. After 9/11, I had trouble finding my car as so many people had flags displayed, as well as signs that said, “Proud to be an American.” What happened? No more flags, No more pride in America?
The month of May is sprinkled with special days. The most popular is Mother’s Day. This day has a special relationship to Memorial Day. Many mothers are those who are listed as God Star Mothers. These mothers lost a son or daughter in conflicts or battles.
These mothers, and Gold Star dads, will join with veteran organizations on May 25 at 10:30 a.m. in Vale Cemetery for the annual Memorial Day services. We look for many veterans to join in the services and we will draw a group of legislators, but we do not see a lot of civilians, as they are probably going to be celebrating the holiday. Not us, because we remember. We take time to pay respect to those veterans that have since died. We also pay respect to those now serving and to the more than 4,000 who have paid the price in Iraq, and Afghanistan.
I see many houses that have spruced up their houses with novelty flags. These flags are very pretty and decorative. People spend $20 to $30 for these flags. Why not spend $7, $8 or even $10 for a beautiful red, white and blue decorative flag knows as an American flag, and fly that as well. You can fly it alongside the novelty flag, but keep it on the left side of the facing house.
James A. Wilson
Schenectady
Re May 17 letter, “Rethink support for marijuana legalization,” Betsy Reksc’s lament regarding the alleged dangers of marijuana is nothing more than regurgitated “reefer madness.”
An analysis contained in a recent European Union report on cannabis, published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, author Robin Room stated that, “on every comparison of dangerousness we have considered, cannabis is at or near the bottom in comparison with other psychoactive substances.”
Ms. Reksc is obviously unaware that people who use marijuana are already in her midst. They share the road with her, work in the stores she shops at, and carry on with the activities of daily living just like the normal people that they are. Oh my God, they may even be living in her neighborhood.
The simple fact is: There isn’t one credible scientific study that supports the notion that adults who use marijuana in the privacy of their own homes pose a threat to themselves or our society — not one!
Walter F. Wouk
Cobleskill
The writer is director of the Thomas Paine Project, an organization that advocates an end to marijuana prohibition.