Thursday’s thumbs

Shooting at Florida school an American disgrace

The slower news day Wednesday was disrupted when word came someone had shot up a high school in Florida. As usual, as more information became available, the tragedy worsened. And another community is left to pick up the pieces. Today’s thumbs, as a result, start with a serious call for political courage that we nonetheless feel may be tilting at windmills.

The words of condolence from political leaders come almost as quickly as another round of bullets fired into yet another American school, and it begs the question: In the expressions of sorrow, in the comments about grief and the need to keep students safe, where within our nation’s leadership is the concerted effort to find ways to prevent mass school shootings? As long as that effort is moribund, press releases and tweets expressing unity with those affected ring hollow. Yes, our nation has a Second Amendment, but surely it is within the capacity of our leaders to explore solutions without spiraling into an ultimately unproductive debate “for” and “against” guns. That kind of approach has produced nothing except more deaths. Where are the leaders? Where is the political courage to even open the dialogue on steps worth taking to protect our young people? Or are we really a nation that will remain frozen in inaction because the gun industry has power? Let them lobby, but they should not be able to stifle all productive discussion that could save lives in the future. We don’t know the answers, but there are some people in Florida whose lives ended prematurely Wednesday. Any political leader who publicly professes concern for those effected, who offers thoughts and prayers, should also be on the front lines of a concerted effort to make a mass shooting tomorrow far less likely than one today.

We’re used to seeing examples of generosity among individuals in Northwest Arkansas, but it’s more rare to witness an act of generosity through municipal government. The city of Bentonville deserves kudos for its neighborly policy of giving its used police vehicles to some of the region’s smaller towns. In the latest example, the city has declared three cars surplus and will give them to Little Flock, West Fork and Dyer. That’s a savings of $35,000 to $40,000 per unit for the small towns. Bentonville doesn’t have to do that, but it’s nice to see one town helping out others.

Kim and Denise Gheen started a nonprofit organization called Angel Lifeline in 2012 and it continues today in its effort to remove any stigmatizing experience a child might have through an inability to pay for a school lunch. The organization’s fundraising helps provide money so that school children in Elkins, Lincoln, Prairie Grove and West Fork who find their cafeteria accounts short on money will still be served food without any big scene. Hopefully, only the cashier ultimately is aware of the situation. This is small-scale philanthropy that can have a big-time positive impact for young people.

Now we have to debate what qualifies as “meat?” The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association is urging lawmakers to establish labeling guidelines so shoppers can discern what is beef or meat and what isn’t. Why is this necessary? Meat producers such as Tyson Foods and Cargill have invested in new businesses that make meat grown from animal cells or a plantbased product designed to resemble meats. The association argues the terms should be reserved exclusively for products from animals. And they’re right. Give consumers the information they need to make an informed choice. And if these companies make products that are better than real meat, let them compete for shoppers’ spending. Let’s make sure labels are about truth, not deception.