Letters to the Editor

Letters may be emailed to edit@dtn.com or mailed to Greg Horstmeier, 9110 West Dodge Road, Omaha, NE 68114.

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To the Editor:

Most have heard of a medical condition called atherosclerosis known as hardening of the arteries. However, many have not heard of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is a hardening of only part of the heart muscle. Neither of these diseases is reversible.

However, I believe I have discovered a new disease. Not of just individuals but of our entire citizenry. I believe America has a hardening of its heart. Thankfully this disease is reversible.

I recently celebrated my 72nd birthday and I believe we are experiencing times like no other in my lifetime. All of our citizenry seems to be infected with some of the seven deadly sins, i.e. Pride, Anger, Envy, Greed, Lust, Gluttony and Sloth.

We have become callous, indifferent, uncaring, narrow-minded and intolerant. I believe racism is a cruel symptom of this disease, not the disease itself.

What is good for our country has been superseded by what is good for a political party. Honor and integrity have been supplanted by the quest for power and money. Common sense has been replaced by intellectual dishonesty.

I am an eternal optimist so I believe "we the people" stills means something. The vast majority of our population that does not belong to the extreme right or the extreme left needs to rise up and be heard.

A cultural revolution in our country is finally beginning to move forward and my generation and others need to get on board. Each man and woman in this country, no matter what religion, race or ethnicity needs to focus on the following Proverb.

"As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man."

We must each gaze at our reflection, open our hearts and remember, change is not painful but resistance to pain is.

-- J. Dudley Butler, former administrator for USDA's Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration, and attorney in Benton, Mississippi

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