Letters to the Editor for Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Published: August 25, 2008

Falwell, LU: It wasn’t spite
I am writing to express Liberty University’s and my own disappointment that many members of the Lynchburg community took offense at how Liberty University handled the parking issue at The Plaza Shopping Center for the Obama event at E.C. Glass High School. It was not our intent to “spite” the Democrats or the city government as some have alleged and we were not attempting to inconvenience anyone attending the event.

Click to send

I told Liberty University students in convocation Wednesday morning that I heard on the late news that Liberty University property would be used for parking for the Obama event, and none of us had been consulted. I half-jokingly said that we could not provide free parking to a campaign fundraising event due to IRS regulations. After convocation, we received a call from a Secret Service agent in Roanoke asking that we reconsider and allow the Obama campaign to use the parking at The Plaza.

The Secret Service agent was advised that we would be willing to rent to the Obama campaign whatever parking spaces were not needed by the retailers at The Plaza. To offset the cost of providing security and coordinating with the store managers on such short notice, we asked that Obama pay $10 per parking space rented. The Secret Service agent never called back, and it was announced that parking would be at City Stadium. We assumed that the Obama campaign had chosen to park elsewhere. As far as we were concerned, that was the end of the discussion, and we felt we had done our part to accommodate Obama even though they had not given us the courtesy of a phone call prior to announcing that parking would be available at The Plaza.

We are truly sorry that people were inconvenienced and offended by this series of events and lack of communication. It was not our goal to offend or inconvenience anyone. We tried to be helpful.

In the future, we will continue to work hard to be a good neighbor to the Lynchburg community as we always have in the past.
JERRY FALWELL JR.
Lynchburg

Poor planning
The Opinion page of Friday’s paper said it best concerning the parking debacle taking place in Lynchburg: “Bad planning, bad PR.”

When the presidential candidate decided to visit Lynchburg, he should have sent an advance team to the city to coordinate all facets of his visit, including parking.

As a retired military policeman, I was involved in security operations for four presidential visits in the 1980s and ‘90s. I attended Secret Service briefings in which security, arrival/departure and parking were covered in detail. Parking lots were high on the list of importance. The Secret Service identified key parking lots near the venue and cordoned them off 12 hours prior to president’s arrival. We did not assume anything.

I agree with the assessment that the liberals want to run the country, yet they cannot manage a parking lot. When I think of the liberal Democratic Party, I think also of the verse of scripture that says, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
AUBREY MYERS
Gretna

Good neighbors
Well, thanks to all the recent letters to the editor about Liberty University, I now have a better understanding of what a “good neighbor” is. It’s allowing someone to use your parking lot just because it’s sitting there empty anyway. Wow! How simple!

Silly me. I was under the impression that serving the community in various ways such as providing a safe haven for expectant mothers, or an adoption agency, or rehab programs for individuals with chemical addictions, or free community group classes or a senior ministry that visits hospitals and other good works, or a prison ministry that gives hope to inmates, or supporting missionaries that bring the Word to various parts of the world, or sending groups to help people in storm-ravaged communities or providing for those less fortunate, (the list goes on) — all this time I thought that was being a good neighbor and contributing to the good of the community.

Well to Liberty I say — forget all of the above “irrelevant” services. Just let us use your empty parking lot for whatever, whenever and we’ll love ya forever. Well, maybe not forever but at least until the next time.
GRACE BEAUREGARD
Lynchburg

Obama’s failure
Failure to plan on the part of Barack Obama’s campaign does not constitute an emergency on the part of Liberty University.

It’s not political, it’s not un-Christian. It is, however, as simple as that.
CINDY BROOKS CAPPS
Lynchburg

Carping continues
I thought with the passing of Jerry Falwell Sr., the carpers would calm down, but alas, they have a new target. On the Opinion page, several have been concerned about Liberty not granting parking privileges at The Plaza for the Obama rally which was held at E.C.Glass.

Aside from the several legal reasons for not granting the request, who in the world would wish to assist Obama, with all his baggage? I wouldn’t wish to be within a mile of where he is speaking for fear someone would think I favored his awful political positions, not to mention his personal failures.

As for the church members parking across the street from Thomas Road Baptist Church in lots of private businesses, they are not employees of the church, and therefore cannot be ordered not to park there. And, do these people realize how silly they look carping about people and ministry that is actually helping others?

Maybe they should look around, perhaps there is something constructive they, too, can do.

As for the ad hominem attacks on Jerry Falwell Jr. (and his dad for years earlier), it reminds me of a gnat jumping on a lion in an effort to hurt him. Like the lion, he just goes on doing his job, oblivious to the gnats. 

And, it appears one of the writers is not a teacher of Theology. We are not all perfect children of God and it has nothing to do with the church we attend, but rather what we do with Christ. I’ve read practically all popular versions of the Bible, and without exception they all say that the only perfect man who ever lived was Christ, and that all others are sinners (even, I would say, the good, old carpers).

Of course, these folks also cannot be ordered not to write their silliness. If they wish to continue certainly they may do so. We all need a little humor in our lives once in a while.
ROY M. DILLARD
Lynchburg

Civic center needed
Early Sunday morning, I got wind of a mini-protest to be staged at the Toys R Us parking lot. A small (very small) group of people showed up just to remind people who were parking in the Dollar Tree and “Toys” lot that it was private parking for shoppers only.

As an interested observer, I listened to what one woman had to say about responses given by churchgoers and watched how most cars just continued driving without even acknowledging her presence. WSET arrived and talked to the two women who were there and then the “Toys” manager asked the protesters to leave. They left.

End of story? Not hardly, I think. I would like to encourage City Council and area boards of supervisors to entertain, again, the idea of a civic center. If money is an issue, how about a regional civic center with several localities chipping in?

Liberty University and Thomas Road Baptist Church shouldn’t have to be the “location of choice for public events” for Central Virginia. In my opinion, Boys State shouldn’t be held there. I was happy when the VHSCA summer senior games were held here, but I wasn’t thrilled that the basketball games were held at the Vines Center.

Central Virginia deserves and needs a large arena for sporting events and concerts. We are a large enough area to have one, and with a little regional cooperation we should get it done.

As far as the Obama event is concerned, it was a positive event for the area. The candidate is wise and inspirational, no matter who tries to characterize him as an empty suit. I am not letting the parking situation at The Plaza dampen my enthusiasm for the Obama/Biden ticket.
MARTHA HICKS
Lynchburg