Americans

As a veteran, I cannot stand the thought of having John Kerry as our commander in chief. As a political opportunist, he lied and turned his back on every American who fought in the Vietnam War. Many veterans blame people like John Kerry and Jane Fonda for the fact that it was one we didn't win. This is the story of Don Lester, a Vietnam veteran who had the honor and privilege of serving among America's best. He saw heroes on a daily basis, but John Kerry claims he had no such experience in the short time he was there.

When someone, or some group, does not get their way, who does it automatically become bigotry? People come from all over the world to live in this great country, one must assume that things were not so wonderful in their country or they would mot have made such a major change in their life. If people feel this country is so great that they they are willing to uproot their families and their lives to make this unknown land their home, why do they want to change the way America is. I do not believe in bigotry and try to get along with everyone, but I am tired of bigotry being the excuse for not getting what you want.

I am a seventh-grader at St. Bede Elementary School in La Cañada. I am trying to bring awareness to the benefits of recycling to your readers. The seventh-graders at St. Bede School have worked hard this week to recycle $68 worth of cans. Our class wants your readers to know that you can also make a big difference in your community by recycling. You can make the world a better place if you recycle because you will conserve energy and save valuable landfill space that is greatly needed by the city of Glendale.

B oston University's religion department head Stephen Prothero's new book, "Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — And Doesn't," reports that though most Americans say they are religious, they aren't very religiously literate. That is, according to Prothero, Americans lack critical knowledge about their own religions and of others. Surveys report that only half of adult Americans can name any of the four Gospels. And most Americans can't name the first book of the Bible.

According to the Pew Forum, those who see their spirituality as “unaffiliated” make up 16% of Americans, but they are the fastest-growing segment of spiritual life in the United States. Why do you think so many Americans are moving away from religious affiliation? The move away from religious affiliation is a move away from organized religion as it presents itself to Americans today. So why is a segment of Americans making an exodus from organized religion? I believe one aspect is the lack of adaptability to current issues that plague our society.

DOWNTOWN — Dozens gathered at a Brand Boulevard street corner Friday to protest President Obama’s plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system, waiving American flags and signs denouncing “Obamacare.” “I call it the Obama death plan,” said Debi Devens, organizer of the protest for the group, called Glendale Patriots. “It’s a plan that’s going to take the free choice away from the American people.” Devens and others at the demonstration on the corner of Brand Boulevard and Wilson Avenue insisted that the president’s proposals, which are currently being discussed in Congress, would force Americans to give up their own health care plans, despite Obama’s frequent insistence to the contrary.

Our country, perhaps more than any other on this planet, is guided by public opinion. We conduct polls to chart our fondest hopes as well as to reveal our deepest fears. In the latter category, Gallup has developed a "worry index" to find out what keeps us awake at night. Despite our troubles in the Middle East, it is our economy at home that heads that list for most Americans (although I would hazard a guess that $200 billion a year spent refereeing a civil war in Iraq just may have an impact on our domestic economy)

Out of the loop on humps In a previous letter my husband and I wrote to the Glendale News-Press regarding the speed humps on Highland Avenue, we neglected to mention an interesting fact ("Residents not ready to take its humps," July 6). There are seven houses above Cumberland Road with a Highland Avenue address. Although only two of the seven houses face Highland Avenue directly -- the others are on private driveways or a private road -- we all use Highland many times daily as the access street to our homes and will certainly be affected by the humps.

JEFF KEATING Forty years ago, as a nation wept, I probably was taking a nap. President John F. Kennedy's assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, stunned a country that had elected him by the slimmest of margins in 1960 but that was noticeably less conflicted about him three years later, at least as far as his leadership skills were concerned. The young president by then had won over many of his harshest critics and political opponents, not because of his legislative successes, but because of his personal charisma, and his ability to galvanize public discourse with his words and ideas.