LET TERS
WHAT KIND OF FORCE?
Gandhi’s satyagraha is typically
translated to mean “the force of truth and
love.” Real change can happen without
stooping to violence and coercion.
Vip Short
Eugene
I know it’s tilting at windmills, but I want
to express a quibble I have long had with a
phrase that policymakers and journalists alike
seem to love to employ: “use(s) of force.”
The brief article about Eugene
Police Department’s “‛sustained’ rate of
misconduct,” [7-24] utilizes this phrase
eight times. What does the speaker saying
“use of force” intend to mean? The
common assumption is violent force, i.e.,
coercive by employing pain and threat.
It bears pointing out that “force,” in and of
itself, is a quite neutral term. From physics,
the word connotes the capability to create
movement or change in a given system.
This, under particular circumstances, could
be a very good thing. It takes force to pull a
drowning life form out of the water.
Only a sustained force of some type
can bring down repressive governments or
oppressive cultural habits; but this force
does not ever necessarily have to be violent.
Martin Luther King Jr. famously said
that unarmed truth and love are “the most
powerful force in the universe.”
Our media and community leaders have
fallen into a semantic habit that eclipses our
possibilities to be better as a people and as
a society. If you are reporting on affairs in
our various communities that affect us all,
take the extra time to specify the kind of
force you are referring to: Do you mean
destructive, violent force, or by some
chance are you actually evoking another
way to both protect the populace as well as
move us all forward to a better world?
MEDICARE FOR ALL
Until recently I have had no medical
insurance. I’ve paid out of pocket for any
care that I needed. Luckily I haven’t had
any catastrophic diseases or accidents
that would’ve put me in that sinking boat
known as medical bankruptcy.
In recent years my personal health
care bills have averaged $1,155 annually.
Obamacare has forced me to buy health
insurance which is OK in theory, knowing
that we all need quality health care, and it
has done some good things like eliminating
existing conditions denials.
The problem is that under the current
system I now have a monthly premium
of $330 and maximum deductions before
I get any service. Let's do the math: For
one year for a very healthy person, my
costs would be $3,960 plus $6,300 equals
$10,260, and then the insurance plan only
pays 40 percent for services. Additionally,
I will still have to pay for any visits to
chiropractors, naturopathic physicians,
acupuncturists, massage therapists and
urgent care facilities I may need to keep
my body and brain functioning optimally.
Wow, I could be medically bankrupt in
a heartbeat. I’m way better off paying the
$1,155 a year and taking my chances.
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July 31, 2014 • eugeneweekly.com
I’m disgusted with our current system. We
need a different approach, one that provides
better health care for all of us at less cost.
Insurance companies are not truly interested
in helping “the public” — they are a huge
middle-man drain to our pocket books.
I believe we should eliminate the
insurance companies and go to a Medicare-
for-all system. Canada, New Zealand and
all other countries which have this type
of approach are so much better off health-
wise and cost-wise than the U.S.
Vicki Anderson
Springfi eld
ACA IS ONLY A STEP
Human rights of various kinds are
mentioned in the news. I believe that health
care is a basic human right. A study of other
countries’ health care offerings indicates the
notion is not new. It’s high time that health
care is affordable for all. Economists have
shown that a reasonable monthly premium
would cover it without co-pays or non-
covered procedures. The Affordable Care
Act cannot do that; it is only a step in the
right direction. It’s time to take this next step.
Joan Armstead
Eugene
ON LINDENS AND APHIDS
I have great friends in this community
who helped remind me that there are
exceptions. After my comment [Letters,
7/17] stating that “if it’s a bad year,
Lindens will be covered with aphids — no
exception!” I realized that usually silver
lindens (Tilia tomentosa) are not normally
susceptible but I wasn’t 100-percent sure.
As soon as the comment was public, my
two good friends Whitey and Erik called
me and confi rmed my doubts: Aphids don’t
bother silver lindens. I felt like it needed to
be said; we wouldn’t want to stop planting
lindens now, would we?
Alby Thoumsin, arborist
Sperry Tree Care
Eugene
READING COMPREHENSION
Early in grammar school, while I was
being taught to read, I was also taught
comprehension. Billy Lindros [7/17]
responded to my letter [7/10] about bike
path safety, which indicates he can read,
but I give him an “F” in comprehension.
He tells me to slow down when
approaching groups and signal when passing,
to use common sense and compassion, and if
I don’t like it I should drive on the freeway
and complain about people driving too slow
in the fast lane.
I don’t know where in my letter it
said that I’m a disgruntled cyclist. One
paragraph stated a person looking at a cell
phone walked into me while I was on my
bicycle. This incident happened while that
group was walking toward me, and had
nothing to do with me not giving warning
when passing, or being courteous.
Fact is I walk/jog about an hour every
other day, so I spend around 180 hours a
year on the path as a pedestrian. I’m 71 and
couldn’t race along on my bike if I wanted