Thanks for broad
coverage in SunIn the recent Sun (April 27) readers learn of good things happening for young Iowans here in Mount Vernon: the MV Fire Department Cadets program to provide real-world training and experience in firefighting skills; also, the benefits of Science Olympiad, life-lessons in working together, and the teacher-coaches who have led teams from MV to beat teams from Ames, Cedar Falls, and Linn-Mar. These two programs for young people help develop future leaders. These programs teach skills that benefit more than just themselves. That to me is the essence of education. Lifelong learning that teaches us we are all in this together.
Which brings me to “Where is the milk of human kindness?” by Dan Brawner. Humor contains grains (and more) of truth, and serves a purpose to lighten our loads. But kudos and thank you to Brawner for being feisty and speaking truth to power in his recent column. If someone is offended, well, that happens sometimes. He calls out our Governor (uh oh!) and Republican Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, “sponsor of the poison milk amendment.” Which is Senate File 315, “removing decade’s-long safeguards of pasteurized milk sold in Iowa.” Unpasteurized milk can make you sick, however. Brawner provides specifics on all the ways bacteria in raw milk can make us very sick. Mr. Kaufmann has said people don’t have to buy it. Brawner responds — in a tone I would call highly upset — by saying “Mr. Kaufmann has settled all questions of public health and safety. Whenever there is a danger, just don’t do it! … Concerned about frayed electrical wires in your apartment? Don’t touch them! All those woke wimps working at the EPA, FDA, OSHA, FAA, etc. can quit and go get real jobs and stop telling us what to do. And let us enjoy our bacteria-infested freedom milk.”
I appreciate honesty when it gets upset after most of the time finding humor in a world that sometimes falls below our expectations. Finding the positive is good, but calling out the dangers and mistakes — there’s a time and place for that too. Thanks to The Sun for making space for both.
Getchen Reeh-Robinson
Mount Vernon
Re-read the Second AmendmentMajority lawmakers, tragically, have missed the most important point regarding gun rights. The second amendment is based on the need for a “well regulated militia.” No matter what your understanding of the term militia, we must not ignore the wisdom of our founders who inserted the words “well regulated” into this guiding statement. By no stretch of the imagination can “well regulated” mean military killing machines for all.
Arlie Willems
Mount Vernon