Degenerate states
City’s editorial staff
seems compelled to spout the party line of the extreme left, even when events
point to warfare as the only reasonable solution to the problem of Iraq and the
Middle East in general (“The State We’re In,” February 5). Like the song says,
must be a virus of the mind.
Your
most obvious problem is the failure to see that the Middle East is in a
degenerate state and will continue to slip as long as religion plays a
significant role in government. Sort of like the slippage we see in Rochester,
when you have people in government guided by religious principles instead of a
sound understanding of humanity.
Which
brings us to Bush: While he understands the need to take care of business in
Iraq as soon as possible, he also is allowing religious convictions to control
what needs to be done in the Middle East.
Frankly,
what is needed is the complete and utter destruction of the degenerate culture
of many of the states making up the Middle East. Without a doubt, there is no
way to do that without targeting the civilian population. So if City’s editorial staff gets upset over a
few body parts scattered over the battlefield, I imagine it would really upset
you to see a whole city’s worth piled in a heap.
The
choices we have are extremely limited, and when the enemy is as much a culture
as it is a state or individual, we will have to learn to deal with the horrific
results of war if we expect to ever have peace on this earth.
Finally,
the extreme left seems to be ignoring the one thing that makes Iraq
particularly dangerous: the technology of biological weapons. The possibilities
are far more dangerous than anything the world has faced in the past. Even
though people would like to believe that we have the nuclear arms to destroy
the world 10 times over, that is really not the case. Nuclear events would
likely be limited to the combatant states; biological weapons, on the other
hand, would not respect borders. It’s a scary thought indeed that some dumb
Arab, with no moral control over his actions, is sitting in a lab developing
biological agents.
David A. Frantz, Bayway Drive, Webster
Keep marching
Jack Spula’s “Peacemaking: Pick Your Role” (February 5) made
it clear that the peace movement is growing around the world.
President
Bush seems to view the US demonstrations as harmless mosquitoes, but he might
better think “West Nile Virus”: effects delayed, but noticeable.
The
administration has definitely been affected by enlightened masses convening,
and may be pushing to attack Iraq before more people get the true picture. At
present, mainly uninformed or misinformed citizens want a preemptive strike.
The
discrepancies among reported total participants in demonstrations are annoying.
The January 18 Washington march total was somewhere between 100,000 and
500,000. The October Washington march was initially given as 100,000 and later,
in the Washington Post and on NPR, as 200,000. Those who attended both
said that the second one was much bigger, probably 350,000 or 400,000.
On a
small scale, rallies across the country often represent a significant
percentage of a town’s population. For instance, in Lubec, Maine, 60 of the
1600 population demonstrated on January 18.
Whatever
the numbers, those with the guts to march represent many more: friends, family,
and other members of their groups, such as MetroJustice, labor unions,
religious congregations, and political parties.
Marches,
rallies, letters, meetings, and phone calls can all be effective in exposing
those who present deceptive “evidence” favoring war.
Even
mosquitoes could affect the “killer bees” in Washington.
Byrna
Weir, Chelmsford Road, Brighton
Billboard revolt
On billboards across western New York, their gargantuan
heads loom, and they taunt you from the spine of your telephone book. Perhaps
you’ve seen their television commercials, or even had nightmares where their
bodiless noggins chase you down a dark, dead-end alley. You know who I’m
talking about: Cellino and Barnes.
I
understand they have a right to advertise wherever and whenever they choose.
But what about our right not to suffer the incessant visual onslaught of their
ads? What recourse do we have? Organizing a boycott? Pooling our funds to
purchase any media they threaten to permeate? Writing them letters pleading for
clemency? Or maybe creating a cleverly named organization like RACAB:
Rochesterians Against Cellino and Barnes?
I
don’t know what the most appropriate course of action is, but I do know this:
Cellino and Barnes must be stopped!
Amanda Dye, Birch Crescent, Rochester
Good people with guns
In “Crime: the Means and the Ends” (January 15),
Jack Bradigan Spula shows that like other proponents of strict handgun control,
he’s been sucked into a black hole in terms of logic. He points out incidents
like the Columbine shootings as a reason for tighter gun control. He implies
that although millions of Americans own guns in a safe, responsible manner,
this should end because a minority of parents are too lazy, stupid, or busy to
teach their children to respect life and settle disagreements in nonviolent
ways. Based on this, are we to believe that because road rage is common state
of mind for some drivers, none of us should have cars?
Thirteen
percent of home burglaries in America are committed while the occupants are
home. In countries where it’s difficult or impossible for citizens to own
handguns, the rates are far higher. In Canada, the rate of “hot” burglaries is
four times higher. In Holland, the rate is 48 percent, and 59 percent in
England.
In an
article for Arizona Law Revue, author
David Kopel makes the reason clear. He quotes the results of interviews with
apprehended burglars, who explain that their greatest fear was coming face to
face with an armed homeowner who’s got the legal right to do whatever’s
necessary to maintain the safety of his or her home. See www.davekopel.org.
Jack,
talk to some of your best friends, your favorite people. Some of them own guns.
But, they’re loving people who own guns quietly, safely, and responsibly. They
are not part of some mythical “gun culture.” They don’t put on camouflage
outfits when they go to the corner convenience store for milk and a newspaper.
And if you think about it, they may be the reason you have the freedom to write
whatever you want.
Can
you say with any certainty that given a couple of more years in office, Richard
Nixon might not have become the next Pol Pot or Idi Amin? Accounts of his
behavior in office indicate that the “madman theory” was more than a
description of his threats against North Vietnam. It described his hostility
toward domestic opponents. Had Nixon gone over the edge and decided to make
Kent State massacres into regular practice, do you suppose an armed citizenry
would’ve been a good thing or a bad thing?
The
typical spew is that human nature being what it is, citizens cannot be trusted
to own guns. You might lose your job or your significant other, go bonkers, buy
a gun, and start killing people. The spew neglects to mention that our leaders
are human, and are as untrustworthy as the rest of us. This isn’t paranoid
conspiracy theory. This is an honest assessment of human nature, so popular
with the anti-gun lobby.
To
answer the article’s final question, “So which will come first, America’s
response or the next Columbine?,” I say “Teach your children well.” Teach them
to love hard, but at the same time, to understand that sometimes we have to do
what’s necessary.
Doug Kanter, Irondequoit
Jack Bradigan Spula responds: Kopel,
associated with National Review and the libertarian Independence Institute,
makes it clear in one essay that his at-home burglary figure for Canada (48
percent) comes from a Toronto, not a nationwide survey. His geographic and
ideological opposite, Australian computer scientist and gun control advocate
Tim Lambert, says Canada’s nationwide rate is actually 10 percent, lower than
in the US.
In
any case, Canadians seem to be less amorous toward weapons as security
blankets. A 1998 Canada Department of Justice report said less than 5 percent
of respondents kept a gun for protection, while nearly 40 percent did so in the
US. And as we’ve seen, rates of gun violence and victimization are considerably
higher in the US than in Canada and other “advanced nations” (if we
still belong to that club).
A
parting shot: I suffered through the Watergate era, and neither I nor anyone I
knew took refuge in gun ownership as protection against Nixon. The civilized
approach — early impeachment — would have done nicely and would have saved
a lot of Vietnamese lives, too.
Learning to forgive
Regarding the letters critiquing Frank Howard’s letter to City (The Mail, January 8; “Thou
Shalt Not Kill,” December 24):
Although
there are similarities, the practices, rituals, and deities of Tibetan and Zen
Buddhism differ. Both do, however, I believe, understand the idea of a
“bodhisattva,” and the importance of compassionate forgiveness.
When
Mr. Howard speaks of his teacher, His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche, referring to
President Bush as a “bodhisattva,” the reader must understand the
heart through which these teachings come. The idea of President Bush being a
bodhisattva may seem outrageous, but when viewed through the heart of a person
with Rinpoche’s background and incredible real-life training, it takes on a new
meaning.
Visit
China or Tibet some time. You will see that we have an abundance of luxuries
here in the US. In China and many other countries, the needs of the many
outweigh the needs of the self.
Mr.
Howard referenced Rinpoche in talking about one of the highest and greatest
teachings one can master in this life: unconditional forgiveness and love.
Rinpoche’s reference to President Bush as a bodhisattva is reflective of his
own personal practice of overcoming fear, anger, and bitterness at the hands of
horror. He has mastered these teachings well enough in his own life to view
another person as a holy being of peace.
I have attended many of the
wonderful talks that the Amitahba Foundation has brought here to Rochester, and
have been amazed by the peaceful spirits of the teachers. These teachers have
seen suffering, and they have overcome it. Now, they can speak of forgiveness
and great strength.
I am
not a practicing Buddhist, but I learn from all spiritual teachings, especially
Buddhism and Taoism. I have a teacher in China who has a lifetime of practice
in both traditions. A few months ago, he said: “You must be able to
forgive everyone, even a person who has done a very bad thing. This is
power.”
Not a
popular teaching in a world that embraces selfishness.
Blessings
and thanks to both Mr. Howard and Mr. Kholhede and to the people of both
Buddhist centers. The teachings are not always easy or convenient, but they are
of the heart, and that is what matters most.
Charlene Bush, Upton Park, Rochester
Writing to City
We welcome and encourage readers’ letters for publication.
Send them to: themail@rochester-citynews.com or The Mail, City Newspaper, 250
North Goodman Street, Rochester 14607.
Our
guidelines: We don’t publish anonymous letters — and we ask that you include your
street name and city/town/village. While we don’t restrict length, letters of
under 350 words have a greater chance of being published. We do edit letters
for clarity and brevity. And in general we don’t publish letters (or longer
“op-ed” pieces) from the same writer more often than once every three months.
This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2003.
