Smokers are not second-class citizens

To the Editor:

I read a story back during the depression, many years ago. Everyone was living "hand to mouth," food was scarce. A "wag" made the remark, "I didn't know I was poor till I read it in the paper."

I liken this to smoking. Most people didn't know they disliked it till they read it in the paper or heard it on TV.

Maybe I am not in the mainstream of thinking, but a little second-hand smoke is the least of my worries. I am concerned with the $8 trillion national debt, a no win war in Iraq, a moral bankrupt society, rampant obesity and a world wide society that is pledged to imposing their thinking and their will on others.

I worry about my freedom to worship God as I see fit. I worry about prayer and the mention of my Lord's name being stricken from our educational system and many more concerns that trouble me in times of thought.

I still regard smokers as American citizens with the same rights as everyone else. They are asked to give space and yet, none is given to them. They are not second-class citizens.

No, I am not a smoker, I'm just a slob who doesn't worry.

Derrell Blake

Dugger