Sorry, Chief Noakes: Reforming Fort Worth police will take vision, not just prayer

Change takes planning, work

Thursday’s story on the final report on Fort Worth police reform (2A, “Final report to city on police reform shows little change”) says Chief Neil Noakes’ “prayer was that the department continued to build trust.” I practiced psychology for more than 30 years. I can tell you that there is no scientific evidence that prayer is an effective strategy for changing an organization. Organizational change takes vision, planning, strategy and concrete steps to reach a goal.

I don’t know Noakes or how he runs his department. However, if he cannot speak about change without resorting to prayer, then he may not possess the skills and abilities required for the task. I would prefer not to be two years down the road with more data to show that prayer didn’t work.

- Donald Rosen, Fort Worth

Faded stripes are road hazards

Has anyone else noticed that you can hardly see road stripes in Fort Worth? University Drive and Magnolia Avenue are accidents waiting to happen. In Dallas, they have nice, bright striping.

What’s up, Fort Worth? Don’t we pay enough in property taxes?

- Bob Allen, Fort Worth

What parents should do

Banning books is wrong. It’s the kind of thing Nazi Germany and the communist Soviet Union did. You do not get to infringe on my rights to allow my child to read a particular book.

If you do not want your child to read certain things, give the school librarian a list of books your child isn’t allowed to check out. Problem solved.

- May Beauchamp Massie, Fort Worth

Shipping them out no solution

It was so refreshing to read Cynthia M. Allen’s comments in her Sept. 4 column, “Northern city mayors should direct their ire over migrant busing at Biden, not Abbott” (4C) She points out that no one in another state or city should be complaining about unauthorized immigrants arriving there from Texas.

But sending one’s problems to someone else doesn’t solve anything, either. It simply passes them on.

I’m glad I don’t live in a country that’s impoverished, ruled by a dictator and controlled by gangsters. Let’s hope it stays that way.

- Art McMahill, Arlington

Abbott is playing politics with lives

Gov. Greg Abbott is shamelessly using desperate human beings as political pawns by continuing to bus those who cross the border to faraway cities. We, the taxpayers, get to pay for these stunts.

Meanwhile, he airs political ads portraying himself as selfless and honorable. He isn’t fooling anyone.

- Wendy Stoecker, Arlington

Biden’s hate and Trump’s love

What a contrast between two speeches a night apart in Pennsylvania. One, by President Joe Biden, was filled with hate and disdain for half the population of the country. The other, from former President Donald Trump, was filled with optimism and hope and love of country.

I never dreamed I would hear a sitting president declare that people who dared to disagree with him and his policies are “semi-fascists.” The backdrop during the president’s speech looked like a setting for Darth Vader or some other bad guy, which fit the diatribe he spouted.

Trump’s speech was given to an audience of thousands who cheered and clapped for an upbeat message that promised an America with full employment, secure borders, energy independence, punishment for criminals and hope for the future. Voters can decide for themselves, but I prefer the latter.

- Clista Hancock, Arlington

Democracy’s greatest risk

Who threatens democracy?

Any elected official who disregards the institutions established by our Constitution.

A president who wants to interfere with congressional certification of a presidential election.

A House voting to impeach a president without conducting a formal investigation.

A Senate majority leader sitting on a Supreme Court nomination to kill it.

A Senate majority leader calling out Supreme Court justices by name in a threatening manner during a protest.

Their zeal for power and political triumph and their attacks on individuals who disagree with them betray their underlying disregard for our democratic institutions. It reveals that the oath of office they took to support and defend the Constitution was nothing more than empty words.

The threat to democracy is from within.

- Elmo Collins, Mansfield

This story was originally published September 11, 2022 at 5:00 AM.