Casual dress in church has gone too far
To the editor:
In response to John Przybys' Sunday article on "casual dress" in valley churches:
This happens to be a subject my husband and I often discuss, usually on the way home from church, as we shake our heads in wonder at what people in our parish consider appropriate dress, since on any given day, (but more often in summer) we see people from grade school children to nursing home residents dressed so inappropriately that we nearly choke on our communion wafers.
Recent observations include a pre-teen wearing a "Flip the Bird" T-shirt, a young woman, possibly a dancer, in shorts so short that some of her bottom was showing, an elderly lady who wore only her leggings and a tucked-in blouse with nothing to cover what needed to be covered, and a lot of dirty socks with ratty old running shoes or sandals. Besides the women who wear skimpy dresses to show maximum cleavage and bare leg, most inappropriate dressers in our church tend to wear things that are dirty - tees, shorts, torn jeans, shoes that would be thrown out by Goodwill, and dirty feet in flip-flops.
Maybe my upbringing in the Midwest was different, because I was taught by my mother that we put on our best clothes to go to "God's House." It is God's house, if you are a Christian, and he invites us in to commune with him on a weekly (or daily) basis on his turf, so to speak, so shouldn't we show him the same common courtesy we extend to other friends of ours who invite us to dinner? In that case, don't we try to "fix up" before arriving to share a meal? So why, then, in church, where we share communion with God and our fellow parishioners, does anyone think it's OK to show up in an outfit that should be in the laundry? Why don't more pastors, priests and elders protest the clothing coming into their churches when the dress code has gone from merely casual to offensive?
I appreciate the Rev. Ralph E. Williamson's comment that he thinks most people, even those who "dress down" will "still bring reverence to their dress." Maybe in his church things look better than in mine, but I'd love his comments on what comes through the doors of my church. We attend a traditional Roman Catholic church in the valley and love the people, the priests and the general feeling of reverence for the Mass, and most attendees do dress in clothing that is respectful of where they are. However, it seems that the dress code has gone from casual to totally inappropriate over the eight years we have been attending and, to me, this is an insult to other church-goers in any house of worship.
Susan L. Halverson
Las Vegas
Typical Harry
To the editor:
Sen. Harry Reid's Sunday commentary on green energy was so typically Harry. He takes half a page to write about green energy and how beneficial it is. Beneficial to whom? Certainly not to struggling working people, the elderly or poor on a fixed income.
Renewable energy is so inefficient that it costs 60 to 150 percent more than traditional power generated by plentiful, cheap coal and natural gas.
Sen. Reid is a millionaire living in a Washington, D.C., hotel. Does he know people are struggling to make ends meet, such that they are making choices between air conditioning and their next meal? Does he even care?
Sen. Reid proves time and again that he is beholden only to special interests and not the people of Nevada.
Skip Blough
North Las Vegas
Four more years?
To the editor:
In March 2006, then-Sen. Barack Obama was quoted as saying:
"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies. ...
"Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, 'The buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."
Mr. Obama the president appears to be a completely different person than Mr. Obama the senator.
Does he believe any of his rhetoric or is he just kidding us? It appears he will say anything to get voters distracted from the fact that Americans don't have jobs.
The real question: Can America recover from four more years of Barack Obama?
Natalie Adams
Las Vegas
Akin, abortion and rape
To the editor:
Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., has so far decided not to pull out of his race for the U.S. Senate after his controversial comments about rape. This, even though virtually the whole Republican Party has asked him to withdraw. Mitt Romney also asked him to pull out of the race, but Rep. Akin refuses. In his arrogance and ignorance, Rep. Akin wants to debate abortion.
The reason Mitt Romney wants him out of the race is because his vice presidential pick, Rep. Paul Ryan, also believes as Todd Akin does - that it should be illegal for a woman to have an abortion even if she were raped.
Of course, none of these men has been hit in the head while going to his car in an underground parking lot, then had his body violated. None of these men has had to work late with his boss, been assaulted and then told he will be out of a job if he tells anyone.
Now imagine one of these situations - which happen to women all the time - happened to you, then imagine finding out that you're carrying the child of your assailant.
Michelle Bracey
Henderson
