Pubdate: Sun, 16 Apr 2006
Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)
Copyright: 2006 St. Petersburg Times
Contact: http://www.sptimes.com/letters/
Website: http://www.sptimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/419
Author: Lodovico Balducci

A CULTURE OF MEANNESS HINDERS OUR SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS

A common theme emerged from three articles in the April 9 Perspective 
section. The editorial on boot camps (State-sanctioned abuse), 
Cynthia Tucker's discussion of immigration policies (Immigration 
problems benefit too many people), and Robyn Blumner's revelation of 
the lies surrounding the detention of Guantanamo inmates (Lies lurk 
behind U.S. terror policy) highlight how meanness is prized by an 
electorate convinced that punishment is the best way to prevent crime 
and social unrest.

As the articles demonstrate very eloquently, the need to appear and 
act mean hinders the search for sensible solutions to the serious 
problems of our society by our elected officials. How many more 
youngsters need to be harmed by authorities before more money is 
devoted to education and to prevention of family violence? How many 
billions of dollars will be wasted on impossible border enforcement 
and in vain prosecution of hardworking immigrants, before we realize 
that our economy would collapse without their labor? How many lives 
will be lost or scarred by a war that keeps draining our economy 
before we look for a political solution to the world's diversity? And 
how much money will be wasted trying to satisfy the public thirst for 
lynching through capital punishment before realizing that life 
without parole is a more economical and prudent way to manage 
dangerous criminals?

This call to meanness has inspired a culture holding that human 
decency is a form of weakness, that intellectual confrontation of 
different viewpoints is a waste of time, that compassion is a 
political gimmick, and that brute force is the only source of effective power.

Never has human life been more disposable than it has been under the 
watch of an administration that has claimed its respect for human 
life in rejecting abortion and stem cell research! In Christian 
terms, this disconnect between the proclamation of one's beliefs and 
the reality of one's actions is considered the least forgivable of 
all sins. It is called scandal!

Lodovico Balducci

Tampa