It’s childish behavior

I read the article on your front page in Friday’s paper that said that the Legislature is holding up the budget for the Supreme Court for 2019/2020. The reasons some of the representatives gave for holding the budget hostage was that they did not get their way as the Supreme Court struck down Ballot Issue 1. That issue as I understood it meant that the representatives wanted the ability to make decisions for the Supreme Court as to monetary awards, lawyers’ fees, etc.

In my way of thinking I always thought we sent adults to the Legislature and they pass or defeat various motions or bills.

I guess the news article I read was all about, “If I don’t get my way I’ll take my ball and go home.” This is standard playground antics and should be below the standards by which we might elect people to represent us in Little Rock.

Come on, people, do your jobs that you were sent to do, and don’t be spiteful when you don’t get your way. You are supposed to govern with integrity, not childish notions. TOM WEWERS

Benton

Though I appreciate the effort of the writer from The Washington Post, my memory of the evolution of cable news is a little different. There used to be the Fairness Doctrine, basically stating that if a broadcaster were to attack an individual of group or government official or give one side airtime that equal time had to be allowed for a rebuttal. In 1987 the Reagan administration did away with the Fairness Doctrine because many conservatives thought it was an infringement on the First Amendment, among many other issues and concerns. I see this as the primary reason that we have such opinionated radio and television talk shows. So now we get to live with the likes of Rush Limbaugh, who a friend of mine once referred to as a terrible waste of skin, and far too many opinionated “journalists” to mention here.

It is unfortunate that cable news, the Internet and radio are so full of hate and conspiracy that play to their audiences’ fears and suspicions. The other problem is that cable news is a 24-hour endeavor, and has to fill airwaves every minute of the news cycle so it has lowered itself to the likening of, shall we say, The Jerry Springer Show, to attract viewers. There is nothing more that modern viewers like than to see people fighting. Cheer for their side and boo the other. You might say that the real villain in all of this is the need to sell advertising. The more viewers, the more advertising dollars spent.

I don’t know if something like the Fairness Doctrine would help our civility, but it would sure be nice to see something done to curb all the hatred and divisiveness.

MICHAEL RADICE

Fayetteville