OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: The buzz on gardens | On account of religion | Extremists’ takeover – Arkansas Online

The buzz on gardens

Rex Nelson's column of last Sunday, "Arkansas' new era," together with Richard Mason's goal of planting 100,000 new trees, in Perspective on the same day, have stirred up a bee that has been in my bonnet since moving to Little Rock 15 years ago: We need a state botanical garden.

Is there a happier place to blend the beauty of the arts (and sciences) with outdoor recreational opportunities than a well-designed and maintained botanical garden? Visitors to El Dorado's splendid South Arkansas Arboretum or Hot Springs' Garvan Gardens, with their mix of native forest and ornamental gardens--I want to roll them up and bring them to Little Rock--have no doubt wondered why Arkansas does not have such a garden in the capital city. (Our Arkansas Arboretum near Pinnacle Mountain is a delightful woodland, but not a showcase exhibition of beauty and education.)

We're fortunate that we have the perfect place for such a garden right here in the middle of Little Rock on the site of the former golf course at War Memorial Park. And the timing is also perfect: The site is in transition to ...

I would also predict that there are hundreds of Little Rockers in groups like Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists ready to volunteer their time to support such a project. Well, the bee is out of my bonnet--and looking for a buzz?

ERIC SUNDELL

Little Rock

On account of religion

From a sermon preached by C.H. Spurgeon in 1886: "To each disciple of Jesus, the government may be satisfied that he is loyal. 'Thou shalt rule over him' is certainly true. Christians will cheerfully submit to all lawful rule and righteous authority. To them it is a matter of joy if they are enabled to lead peaceable lives because the magistrate is a terror to evildoers. They are a non-resistant, peaceable, quiet people, who have from the beginning of the world until now borne burdens and suffered, and been content to suffer, so that they might but be true to their master. They hate tyranny, but they love order; they protest against oppression, but they uphold law and justice. Why, then, should they be persecuted? They ask nothing from the state by way of pay or patronage; they only ask to be let alone, and to be subject to no disability on account of their religion. Let all who are in authority, whether as kings or petty magistrates, beware of wantonly molesting a people who cause them no trouble, lest they be found in this matter to be fighting against God."

B.E. SPURGEON

North Little Rock

Extremists' takeover

Longtime Republican columnist Rex Nelson wrote the truth about our Arkansas Legislature in his Jan. 26 column "Government by yahoo." For a Republican to write such truth about the decline of the quality of our state politicians is refreshing honesty.

Nelson wrote about the loss of experienced community leaders in political leadership, now replaced by fringe candidates who win due to low voter turnout and the appeal of these extremists who have taken over the Legislature with their no-holds-barred bullying. Using fear-based appeals to those who oppose abortion rights and those who demand open-carry, these Republican politicians in Arkansas now control our Arkansas Senate and House by a ratio of four to one. The moderate leaders have given up on controlling these fringe members.

We can expect the next session of our state Legislature to be more chaotic and dysfunctional than 2021. As long as that "R" next to any name on the ballot gets the vote, I believe we are doomed to partisan leadership from city to county to state offices. If we care about the future of our state, we will stop this extreme partisan divide and think about the quality of the person running for any office, not only their party affiliation. We will educate voters and register voters, then make sure that every person has the right to vote.

If we allow this takeover to control our next election, it will be too late to save our state from extremism.

SARA BARTLETT

Fayetteville

Sure do miss cartoon

Alice Witterman from Batesville asked you to bring back Lola. Here are the words in the cartoon from Jan. 27. Judge for yourself: "The sound is so sweet, like an angel's voice singing. For joy is upon us, when the microwave is dinging."

Bring back Lola!

GARY McCLURE

Pine Bluff

See the article here:

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: The buzz on gardens | On account of religion | Extremists' takeover - Arkansas Online