Killing hope — and the future

For the last 15 to 20 years, Ireland’s economy has boomed, giving hope to its people, that there would be a better future there. And, amid this boom in employment and opportunity, Ireland found a way to bring peace to its land.

But that hope is now dying. Today, Ireland is the European country most severely hit by recession. Every five minutes, a job is lost there.

Yes, part of this downturn is due to the bursting property bubble. But a huge part is due to multi-national companies leaving Ireland for cheaper labor in Poland, the Czech Republic and elsewhere.

In Limerick, computer giant Dell is shedding 1,900 jobs, closing its plant and moving to Poland. Symantec and other companies are now leaving for cheaper wages in Eastern Europe.

My career was in the corporate world, but this is the image of business I hate: companies settling in Ireland and other desperate places, creating jobs, giving hope to people (who often have no hope), only to snatch that hope away for a few extra cents profit.

Where is the goodwill or the justice in that? It’s nothing more than a heartless act.

Do these corporations, through their policies, make this world a better place? Do they further the cause of peace and stability in the world? Are they actually lifting humankind up, or are they exploiting it? Is this misery being caused mainly for the profits of a few? I think we know, America; I think we know.

John Kokalis,

Denton

Mister Roberts

What is wrong with Ray Roberts [Letters, June 11]? Why does he think he needs to demonize Muslims? Next I expect him to recommend herding them into camps. Did he object to George Bush holding King Saud’s hand at his ranch a while back? Has he noticed Michele Obama wearing a hajib?

If he disdains socialism so much, I hope he doesn’t plan to use the services of the library, police, fire department, Social Security, Medicare, etc. Also note that the military is the most socialistic of all government services. Why does the DRC publish his bigoted, crazy talk?

Gretchen Niendorff,

Oak Point

No air show for me

Thank you for mentioning in your air show article that firearms are prohibited [Page 1A, June 15]. Even though I flew some of those airplanes in defense of this country, I won’t attend an event where I can’t protect myself and my loved ones even though Texas makes it legal for me to do so.

Don’t worry though, since it’s in the paper, only the law-abiding citizens will leave their guns at home.

Quinn Sowell,

Denton

A Harpool memory

I work for the Emily Fowler Central Library in the genealogy/local history department. Over the years, many people who have visited this department have shared their stories about living in Denton County.

Last year, a woman who is now in her 70s came in and told me a story about the Harpool family. She said that she didn’t have a lot of money in her family and that the Harpools would pay her 10 cents for every turtle that she and her brother caught and brought to their store. She said many of the turtles came from Pecan Creek, right beside this library.

Later on, she found out that one of the Harpools (I can’t remember if she said it was Pinky or Tom) would secretly place the turtles back in Pecan Creek.

She was very touched by that. Me too.

Leslie Couture,

Krum