Daniel Merritt

Cheyenne

I don't smoke, but I can sympathize with those who do.

Many complain about smokers and would like for smoking to be against the law. However, many of these same people believe it is OK to break the laws they do not like.

I'm talking about speeders. It seems like most folks speed, believing they are above the law, and by speeding tell their families and others that they can break the laws they do not like or agree with.

I know that speeding is against the law, and smoking is against the law only in certain places. Many speeders (law breakers) would like to dictate to others what they can and can't do because they do not like it. Seems like something is wrong with that thinking, yet many do.

Law enforcement officers also speed, and I know they aren't chasing criminals because they are waiting at the next stop light. If they would observe the law themselves, and ticket others for speeding, then we would not be so concerned about seat belts not being used. Reckless driving is the cause for most accidents, not the non-use of seat belts.

If people are Christians, they of all people should obey the law, yet many Christains also speed. Scriptures tell us to obey the laws of the land, unless that law conflicts with what our Lord has said, then we obey our Lord. Christians should make the best citizens.

Many claim that second-hand smoke is really bad (according to the studies quoted), but there have been a great many studies that say second-hand smoke is not harmful. Some studies say that it does, but it is minicscule, and really presents no problems. The news media does not print stories about those, because they do not want folks to know about them.

I have been around smokers for 65 years, and there has never been any evidence of cancer in me. Smoking can cause cancer in some folks, but not everyone.

Speeding and reckless driving (including drunken drivers) cause thousands of deaths a year, so why not do more to stop those law breakers?

For more letters from readers, see the print edition of the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle.