Letters: week of Jan. 23

Taking a bird’s eye view of the noisy cars in Canatara Park Sir: Myself and lots of my friends have resided in Canatara Park for many years and have enjoyed all the seasons here.

Taking a bird’s eye view of the noisy cars in Canatara Park

Sir: Myself and lots of my friends have resided in Canatara Park for many years and have enjoyed all the seasons here.

We have the beautiful Lake Chipican, lots of great trees and grassy areas, and watched families play and swim in Lake Huron with its great sandy beaches.

But, sorry to say, we are slowly leaving.

The area has become way too noisy, from all the loud and sudden sounds from vehicles. We have tried to move to different parts of the park but the noise is still heard there.

We have communicated with some of the other residents, (squirrels, geese, raccoons) and they all feel the same way.

It’s not so much climate change, but the noise level that some drivers feel they must make with their cars.

We even tried to move to the other end of the beach parking lot, thinking it would be closed during the winter months, but no luck.

For some reason, the entire park is left open so cars can go faster and louder.

Maybe, someday, when people consider what the park is really for, they will put in laws prohibiting unnecessary vehicle noise. Want to visit us? You’ll have to go to another park.

Sorry.

Woody Woodpecker

Sarnia

(Translated by Jamie Cockerham)

Atheists can live Christ’s message without believing in a god

Sir: In her response letter of Jan. 9, Jill Andrews stated that I, as an atheist, protested too much. No protest was intended.

It doesn’t matters to me if Christ actually existed or not. It is sufficient that his method was put forth as an outward manifestation of man’s innate morality, and a reminder to all that we have a better nature within if we would but use it.

The deification of Christ adds nothing to the truth of his narrative. I personally adhere to that narrative. One need not do anything more than follow that moral construct to be a better person.

I regard the Bible as one of the greatest books of literature ever written. It exposes us in all of our characteristics from evil to goodness, love and compassion. It is up to each of us to choose which path to follow.

Ms. Andrews mentioned the straying of Charles Templeton from the marital bed. There are many more of ‘God’s Soldiers’ such as Jim Bakker, Ken Hovind, Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Tilton, Ted Haggard, believers all, who did the same thing. What has that got to do with atheism?

Ms. Andrews stated, in so many words, that choosing virtue over the alternatives is a prideful thing to do, and that atheists are incapable of ‘handling the truth.’ A wonderful piece of hyperbole, to be sure.

To call myself a good person is arrogant presumption. That is up to others to determine whether I am or not. Therefore, to achieve any respect of others, I must live by example. Nothing more and nothing less will do.

But then, she has never met me, so I am at a loss as to how she came to judge me at all. Judge not that you may not be judged, as the saying goes. I read that somewhere.

I do not castigate her for believing in her deity. Please accord me the same courtesy and latitude.

Paul Pinel

Sarnia

The number of vehicle collision in this city embarrassing

Sir: Re: the Dec. 26 news story, London Road leads the hit parade.

The story reported that for the second year in a row the worst intersection for vehicle accidents in Sarnia was London Road at Murphy Road, and that collisions are most likely to happen around 4 p.m.

What’s the answer?

Perhaps drivers should stay off the road on Thursdays. Or maybe the street preacher who uses that corner could help us out, holding up Elmer the Safety Elephant signs between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

But seriously, Sarnia. We need to slow down, put down the phone and the coffee, use our blinkers, stop at stop signs, and give pedestrians and cyclists the right of way.

The story reported there was 1,136 collision involving 2,030 vehicles in just nine months.

That is embarrassing.

Cam Ross

Sarnia

Impact of a kind stranger’s spontaneous smile immeasurable

Sir: I recently lost the love of my life to cancer, and have found myself feeling very alone among so many people, in so many public places.

But there have been several remarkable moments, when a spontaneous smile from a stranger has touched the emptiness that feels so vast, and lifted my failing spirit.

My gratitude for such moments, and such people, is infinite.

The impact that can come through the sharing of the human spirit in a smile, from one stranger to another, is immeasurable.

It can lift a single soul and sustain our humanity in the process. Let us hope 2020 might bring such humanizing moments to all of us.

Bob Sutton

Camlachie, Ont.