Published: May 25, 2009 05:51 pm      

Letter to Obama discourages reader

EDMOND — To the Editor:

The “Open Letter to President Obama” written by Lee V. Rose and published May 21 in The Edmond Sun, evoked some strong feelings in me — feelings of amazement, deep sadness and discouragement.

Amazement because, judging from her article, she and I seem to have much in common. She says she is an old woman; I, too, am an old woman. She is a retired professor from the College of Business at the University of Central Oklahoma; my degree is in business and I was employed for 12 years in the Office of Engineering Research at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater and for another 12 years as accounting manager of a manufacturing firm.

She seems to be a woman of faith since she speaks positively of her belief that the U.S. constitution is based on Judeo-Christian ethics; I, too, am a woman of faith. She is concerned about politics and the welfare of our country; I, too, am concerned that our country and our leaders represent us well. She is a grandmother and a great-grandmother; I, too, share that joy.

But here is where our similarities end and my amazement begins. Her tirade against President Obama, to me, is completely irrational. I disagree with all her points. Where she feels the president’s reaching out to Europeans and Muslims is a betrayal of his responsibilities as president, I feel he is doing exactly the right thing and is helping us to move toward a more Christian behavior — the only type of behavior that will keep our world from destroying itself.

Mrs. Rose’s letter made me feel really, really sad and discouraged. If we, as concerned, intelligent people of faith, are unable to respect each other enough to reason together in a civil way to reach decisions for the good of our country and of the world, then I’m afraid Mrs. Rose’s children and grandchildren, whom she cares for very much, will be the losers.



Dorothy C. Messenger

Edmond