“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” said Marcellus in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” There is something rotten in this country, also.

There is constant talk of the widening gap between the rich and poor and, from my perspective, there certainly is a gap. There is a question whether this disparity has something to do with the recent police shootings of unarmed black men. Cities cannot afford to pay for training of police. Cops cannot afford to make payments on their cars or homes. Food banks are running out of food. College graduates can’t pay their student loans or buy a car or a home.

And yet, the University of Mississippi, alma mater of writer and Nobel laureate William Faulkner, has reached an agreement to pay its football coach, Hugh Freeze, $4.3 million next season. And as much as $5 million if the Rebels make the SEC championship game. Faulkner would turn over in his grave.

Wallace Seavey

Canaan