Elitist Attitude On Display
Editor:
At the last Town Hall meeting at Chesapeake College of our First District, Congressman Andy Harris started the meeting with a set of 10 slides depicting the history of our federal deficit and how much we owe ourselves.
The audience was impatient and desired to move on to a discussion of more immediate problems. But Congressman Harris stuck to his guns and patiently waited for the audience to quiet down and listen to his lecture. He seemed to belittle our intelligence and spoke as an elite speaks down to the masses. Many of our questions and concerns went unaddressed.
Now we see that he has voted for a huge increase in our national debit in order that corporations and the more wealthy of our citizens can receive large tax cuts. He also has voted for a large increase in spending on our military, though not for an increase in the pay of our soldiers and sailors. I wonder he will ever again have another in-person Town Hall meeting and whether he will show the deficit slides again?
Will he say that we can’t afford to fun the educational needs of our youth because we have such a huge deficit? Will he say we can’t afford to clean up our environment because we need to have a huge military to protect us from made-up threats?
One thing is for sure: his retirement from Congress will be funded and his lifetime medical coverage will be funded. Talk about an elite class of citizens.
Tom Wieland
Bishopville
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Memorial Marker Appreciated
Editor:
For 34 years the site where the Sauté Cafe once stood was bare. To most tourists, the site was simply empty space, an eye sore even. To locals familiar with the events of July 16, 1983, the site was an untouched, unmarked memorial to a man who gave his life to save a restaurant.
Progress and growth are what make Ocean City one of the most popular vacation destinations in Maryland. And progress can coexist with the past. Progress can even honor the past. The footprint of the Sauté Cafe was and is hallowed ground and must be treated as such.
It is pleasing that developers recognize the significance of the Sauté Cafe site. I look forward to seeing the memorial marker developers intend to incorporate into its plans. A simple yet permanent reminder of one of Ocean City’s heroes, a reminder of the man who gave his life for the city he loved.
Jeffrey Lee Dieter Jr
Nottingham, Md.