From Our Readers

Healing Burns

Some time ago, I wanted to ignite the pilot light of the bath water heater. I turned on the gas, and after a little while, I lit the match. Suddenly, everything around me burst into flames. The back of my left hand, which I had used to turn the pilot switch, was completely burned. I remembered reading in an Awake! that water should be applied, so I cooled my hand. My father had recommended administering a cut aloe leaf, and I did as he said. But the pain spread to my whole hand, and I just couldn’t stand it. During this time, I started looking in the Watch Tower Publications Indexes under “Burns” and located the article “What You Should Know About Burns.” (April 22, 1980) On reading it, I saw that it did not say to ‘cool with water’ but to ‘put in ice water.’ For just under three hours I did as the article said. I did not think that with such a burn my hand would heal evenly. But the next morning, look! No scars. My hand healed perfectly.

M. K., Japan

This treatment was also discussed at length in our issue of July 22, 1966. The injured hand or lower extremity can be immersed in ice water for 15 minutes, removed, and then the process repeated until the pain completely disappears when out of the ice water. This usually occurs within a period of about three hours. Larger areas of the body can be treated with ice packs. It should be kept in mind that too much cold applied to large areas of the body can bring the body temperature down too much, causing shock.​—ED.

United States Constitution

I enjoyed the article “The United States Constitution and Jehovah’s Witnesses.” (October 22, 1987) After I did some research on the history of the Constitution, I learned that many of the men who signed the Constitution were racist and brutal slave-owners, and at the same time they were religious church attenders and forced their dogmas on their slaves. History books generally seem to have omitted these facts.

A. N., Japan

It is true that the lofty ideals expressed in the preamble to the Constitution, ‘to establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, and secure the blessings of liberty,’ did not benefit all inhabitants of the United States when it was adopted in 1787. Nearly 80 years passed before slavery was prohibited (1865) and more than 130 years before women were guaranteed the right to vote (1920). The full attainment of racial equality is taking even longer. This, of course, is indicative of the limitations of imperfect, selfish men and shows the real need for God’s Kingdom by his Son, Christ Jesus, where full righteousness will prevail. (Isaiah 9:6, 7; 32:1, 2; Matthew 6:9, 10) It could be said, though, that the Constitution, with all its shortcomings, contains the expression of ideals in a framework that made possible improvements in the operation of the government so that such ideals could eventually be enjoyed by more people and to a greater degree today than in 1787.​—ED.