It doesn’t seem so long ago that colorblind zealots filled many Topaz communities with their nemeses. Equally not so long ago, other political zealots filled their camps with their nemeses. They used stars and stripes and barbed wires to identify them so they would be easier to find. Uniformed officers and men were used in this endeavor.

Have we progressed in our compassion, in our intelligence, and in our civilization in a short 70-plus years just to repeat some of the most sorrowful, ugly and painful periods of American history? Yet, it appears that it is our destiny, given recent ravings in our community.

Alfred Martinez
West Valley