Letters to the Editor
Ben Sen
Published Letters: 539 Editor's Choice: 97
-
What is Private is Private
[Read the article: Uncle Sam, keep out]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In the movie VOLVER by Pedro Almadovar that is now playing, there is a scene where a woman dying of cancer agrees to go on a talk show to tell her families "secret" in return for the funds she needs to go to America for treatment. It's a small part of the movie, so I don't spoil it by revealing that she walks off the "show" deciding not to tell--that it is better she die.
Another character then responds (these words aren't exact) "It is better to keep what is private, private." Her courage is rewarded by those she protects.
It is the best dramatization of this problem I have ever seen--making it a matter of life or death for the character so the viewer can determine what they might do, and where their sympathies lie. Almodovar knows exactly what he is offering.
It is the choice between dignity and shame--individual responsibility vs. victimization. Aside from accruing power for themselves, it is hard to determine what the evangelical clergy and Catholicism expect to gain by their gross interference into the lives of their flock at this point in history.
To justify their interpretation with the bible makes a mockery of the bible, or in the case of Catholicism with "dogma" brings into question the entire purpose of organized religion. I like to believe that it is only a matter of time and education before the sheep realize they are being led to the slaughter.
That the American West instinctively, and the Libertarian Party intellectually understand this gives hope to those who fear we are in a new dark age--where the rights of the individual are being sorely eroded. Maybe the fundamentalist South and the brainwashed can't hear it now, but with states like Arizona resisting these attempts to invade our privacy more will wake up.
-
100/100
[Read the article: Does less of a paycheck make him less of a man?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's encouraging to see how many letters agree the woman in this case needs to grow up. I call it the 50/50 disease. It's evident she's had it from the beginning--probably a result of the misguided assumptions and legacy of orthodox feminism, if not victim issues in childhood that haven't been addressed.
This isn't a marriage. A marriage is a 100/100 per cent proposition--so at least there is some emotional honesty involved. You can't say "this is what I will give and no more." What you give is determined by what is needed at any particular time. I feel sorry for these children, however. If the problem wasn't going to manifest in this way it would eventually in others. There isn't even an inkling in the question that she realizes how foolish she sounds--and how little responsibility she is taking.
Even if it isn't a "real" case, and the venerable Mr. Tennis makes them up so he can test the waters, it still has value. Is it any wonder the divorce rate is fifty per cent--or that men today are paranoid of committment? If this was what I had to contend with, I would be too.
I have a lot of sympathy for young people today--especially if they want to have children and are taking responsibility for their own morality and not letting themselves be told what they are supposed to believe. It can't be easy to find a mate you can count on given the current sad state of affairs.
-
The Monster Turd
[Read the article: All the father's men]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The turd in the punchbowel of American foreign policy has been Israel for more years than I care to enumerate. Everybody who hasn't been asleep for the last forty years knows it.
First, they took advantage of liberal sentiment back when it meant something in the 50's, 60's, 70's and into the 80's, and then when the neocons took over forged this innane alliance with Christian fundamentalism.
The liberals are scared to death to be called anti-semetic and fear the loss of the American Jewish vote, while the evangelicals are still too damn naive to realize they are being made into fools. Now that the issue of Iran's nukes have emerged the Israeli right will play that for all it's worth as well--and the loser?
How about peace, or any semblance of it? When are they gonna get it? The right wing of Israel has led the world around by the short hairs for far too long. They have committed genocide and while the rest of the world knows it full well, the United States has aided and abetted them. If Baker even throws a potato at them, it is to his credit. That's a measure of how abysmal the situation is even at this late date.
It has to stop. There is no way around it. Bush doesn't have a conscience so nothing will happen between now and the end of his tenure.
It is up to the Democratic contender in '08 and they will have to fight to keep it from becoming an issue because of the politics involved. The less said the better. Meanwhile, the Palestinians will continue to be slaughtered, the Moslem world will be fully empowered in their hatred of the U.S., and those poor suckers who believe humanity is capable of becoming more conscious instead of more bestial will continue to be disappointed.
Sydney: I challenge you to come out stronger on the side of non-political reality when the report comes out. If the opinion makers don't take their stands, the politicians will continue to play hide and seek.