Letter to the Editor - 10/07/02 - Freedom of the Press
Dear Mr. Santoro:
According to our most practical Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, free speech and press are our most vital constitutional freedoms. The First Amendment is under attack from enemies, foreign and domestic. Debate has become a dirty word. One must agree with the foreign policy or lack thereof, or be branded as stupid and unpatriotic by the President to the most irresponsible talk show host and their followers.
The court decision regarding the mandatory acknowledgement of God when one pledges allegiance confirmed what many legal scholars privately stated, "It offends the First Amendment." But it is politically incorrect to object to "Under God".
"Under God's" inclusion in the pledge is defended mostly by those who ridicule political correctness. I do not understand what all the fuss is about. If the original version of the pledge need be changed then, "One Nation, Under Law" would be more meaningful and appopriate.
"Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." follows. Until we were divided into liberal and conservative, this nation was distinguished for two centuries by it's adherence to the rule of law - while citizens of other countries were uncertain of their safety and future, some due to religious dominance which contributed to instability, often tyranny, and regression.
The limitation on free speech due to consolidation of the media over the past twenty years allows only unrealistic "virtues" of the privitization of Social Security. The press will not allow those claims to be challenged and fails to point out that over 1/3 of the expenditures from Social Security go to survivors and disability payments. Locally (Arizona ~editor) a fifty-four year old teacher died unexpectedly last week, He left a wife who had been fighting cancer and four young children. It is great to know that we live in a country that will assist the family in a dignified manner, not as a charity case, but under an insurance program that will take into consideration increasing costs of living and even educational needs.
The complaints that Congress raids the Social Security Trust Fund proposed by President Roosevelt comes mostly from critics such as the Cato Institute who clamor for tax cuts for the wealthy - resulting in the need for Congress to deal with a budget deficit.
Over the next month, candidates for public office will have to compete with the World Series and four days of football on TV each week. Which will get more attention from the media and the public? Which will be the topic at your table or water cooler? You can be proud that you care enough about your country to read Letters to the Editor and consider some opposing views.
Richard T. Tracy Sr. Mesa, Arizona, US
9:04:54 PM 
|
