Life in N.C. is >
Grayson Currin‘s music reviews have been sharp and provoked less outcry of “He completely missed the point!” than past reviewers. Now he adds a column (“Animal obsession,” Front Porch, Oct. 21) including his well-remembered nuclear familyBill, Stella and Senter, a highly recognizable North Carolina groupwith the added twist of his new dog, Alice.
This brings to mind the beloved columns of John Valentine, which also remind us that life in North Carolina is more than the usual political controversies that sometimes leave us with the effects of a pint mason jar of Everclear moonshine the next morning. There are the dogs, the plants, the children, the State Fair, the incomparable basketball and football afternoons.
This raises the Independent to a slightly higher echelon than other papers of its kind and shows one reason you receive the many awards you have. May Grayson Currin continue to write on any subjects that interest him, and us.
David L. Ross
Durham
Details, please
Hal Crowther’s article on Glenn Beck (“Tears of a clown,” Oct. 28) is a fine introduction to the latest wave of misinformation that has gripped conservative America. Unfortunately, Crowther does not detail the slander and hysteria that characterize Beck’s show and books. I think the Indy missed an excellent opportunity to educate its readers on the lies Beck perpetrates so that at least some of us would be better informed.
Jeremy R. Rush
Chapel Hill
Better than Beck
“I’m better than Glenn Beck; are you?” should be the title of Hal Crowther’s article (“Tears of a clown,” Oct. 28), and I find it revealing that you have chosen this as your cover story.
If Hal is a part of the “progressive” movement that claims to want to reach across the aisle and be tolerant of and accepting to all, I suggest he change his tactics. I gather that he has lots to say, but the main points I got from his article were:
1) The higher your college education, the greater worth you must have as a person and the larger salary you must deserve.
2) Viewing our country as a democracy, we were doomed to fail, since there are precious few people like (him? progressive liberals? journalists?) who truly understand how to run our world.
Surely your writers can write something more worthy than this article. His descriptions come off like the meanest kind of teenage gossip. If you would like anything other than the accolades of a few who already agree with this kind of commentary, I suggest you present something with some meat (like facts and arguments).
Until those on both ends of the political spectrum can refrain from personal attacks and persecution, we’re not going to get very far as a country.
Rachel Snider
Durham
Work with each other
After reading Mr. Crowther’s story about Glenn Beck (“Tears of a clown,” Oct. 28), I was disturbed by his anger toward anyone he perceived to agree with Mr. Beck. He seems to think that anyone who didn’t graduate from college, and leans to the right, is an uneducated neanderthal. I am sure there are several liberal-minded people who didn’t even go to college that Mr. Crowther would agree with on certain issues.
The reason our country is in the mess it’s in is because of the intolerance of people on both sides of the political spectrum. Politicians on both sides toeing the party line unwaveringly are shortsighted and detrimental to our recovery and the future of this country. Mr. Beck has his pulpit to shout from and has obviously touched a nerve in a number of people that has sparked a debate as to the direction of the country. Following our leaders blindly is a dangerous attitude to take, and questioning them is our right as citizens.
Even though I don’t agree with everything Mr. Beck has to say, some points he makes are valid. Mr. Crowther dismissing everything Beck says with name calling and denigration is petty and childish. I was not familiar with Mr. Crowther before this story, so I looked up his biography and am surprised that a person with his talent and background would seem to be so jealous of Mr. Beck’s success. I was particularly offended by his flip comment about the tragedy in Mr. Beck’s life regarding his family.
If everyone would just open their eyes and see that we are all in this together, not Liberal or Conservative, Republican or Democrat, and try to work with each other to solve our problems, the country would get back on its feet quicker.
Fred Schulze
Cary
