Letters
Preemptive vs. preventive I read the
series of passionate, angry letters in the Local about the Iraq war. Both letter
writers obviously care a lot for their country and are to be
complimented on their patriotism. Years ago, I wrote nasty letters
vituperating those of different political opinions, but never
mailed them for fear they would actually be printed and then
readers would see what a fool I was. Therefore, both writers
are to be complimented for their courage. I
read a few things that bothered me, though. One was the statement
that “sensible Muslim was an oxymoron.” This is
tarring an entire religion with a broad brush. Also, the tendentious
comparison of fatalities in Iraq to fatalities on the highway
seems a bit insensitive to those who have suffered the pain
of either loss, but I suppose it wouldn’t be the first
time that casualty figures were used for political purposes. My
concerns take a different direction than that of either letter
writer. Although announced as a preemptive war, the invasion
was actually a preventive one. No one doubts that Saddam was
a bad piece of work, his sons sadistic creeps, the world a better
place without them, and there were beady-eyed scientists scurrying
around the cellars of Saddam’s palaces thinking up ways
to do us in. Nevertheless, we were told that there were nuclear
warheads, vast quantities of poisons and germs ready to destroy
us, that we were in immediate danger. These statements have
not been borne out. I find it humiliating to have an American
president look like either a liar or a fool with bad advisors.
The change in the justification for Iraq from preemption to
prevention does not seem a big distinction or bother many people,
but it bothers me very much. The waging of preventive war, boldly
proposed and executed by the current administration in order
to prevent terrorism, is contrary to the genius of our country.
We have never invaded sovereign nations on the chance they may
be seeking to harm us. To do so in the absence of clear proof
of imminent danger is profoundly un-American. I believe sacrificing
moral scruples to fear cannot lead us to safety. Abraham Lincoln
put this idea eloquently in 1848: “Allow the President
to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary
to repel invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may
choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose, and you
allow him to make war at pleasure ... You may say to him, ‘I
see no probability of [someone] invading us;’ but he will
say to you, ‘Be silent: I see it, if you don’t.’” H.L.
Field
Cancer
in city I’ve
just returned from the CHCA’s “conversation with
John Street” held at the Venetian Club Sunday night,
October 19. I left at 9:10 p.m., not quite until the end,
because I could only tolerate an hour’s worth of bloviation
between Lynne Abraham’s opening act and the mayor. Their
overall tone was strangely Pollyanna-like in nature. Everything’s
fantastic: downtown’s jumping, the vaunted neighborhood
initiative is putting “trees and quality wooden fencing”
in West Philly (300 million dollars apparently doesn’t
buy what it used to), the Barnes is coming to the Parkway,
blah, blah, blah. Of
course, Street told the crowd about Sam Katz’s “ridiculous”
tax plan. Street enjoys throwing numbers around to show he
can do long division. He knows the budget “from page
one to the last page” according to Abraham. I would
guess that helped him conceal his relatives, friends, hangers-on
and connected flunkies on the city payroll at least until
the FBI started poking around. The
recent findings of the pay-to-play culture that is a cancer
throughout his administration concern Street not a whit. People
continue to leave town, walking away from the public schools.
My property taxes are up 40 percent in four years, taxpayers
carry the freight with tax abatements for whatever paltry
private investment the city does get; murder and robberies
are up, and he and she tell me everything is fabulous. Perhaps
it’s my blue-collar upbringing, but I’m reminded
of a saying, “Don’t p--- up my leg and tell me
it’s raining.” I was heartened by the low turnout
these two did receive. By my count it was less than half the
crowd Sam Katz spoke to the previous Sunday at the Sedgwick
in Mt. Airy. The overwhelming ratio of Katz to Street lawn
and window signs in this neighborhood shows folks here are
not buying the rose-colored message. If
you think Philadelphia is doing fine, by all means vote for
Street. If you are tired of the corruption, fantasies and
complete lack of progress, vote for Sam Katz. Jim
Gleason
What if? There will be an important mayoral election in two weeks, probably before the FBI has finished its current investigation. In the event that Street is indicted and convicted, who will take over as mayor? Perhaps we should take this into consideration as we go to the polls. C. Henderson
Stop
hatin’ I
think the events of the past few weeks will hurt us as a city
in the long run, no matter who wins. The divisiveness that
has been displayed will be seen as potentially harmful or
at least threatening to any resident or company who might
have considered giving Philadelphia a run. Don’t we
have enough issues with crime, education, taxes and housing
without having to worry about the “racial divide”
being transformed into an inimitable gulf? Is this what we
really want for our children and for the future of this city? In
Genesis, 9:18, 19 and 10.32, the Word of God states, “And
the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and
Ham and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. These are
the sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
... These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their
generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations
divided in the earth after the flood.” Now, you may
be reading this and may not believe what the Bible says, but
do you believe you are human? (If you believe you are part
alien, I have nothing for you.) If
you look at scientific studies on race, you will find that
we all have the same basic skin color agent, melanin, but
in varying amounts (with the exclusion of albinos who have
no melanin, hence no color). This means all human beings are
descended from people who walked this earth thousands of years
ago. We all share a common ancestry, which means that all
people who are living today are related to one another. Anthropological
studies have shown that human beings originated in Africa
and gradually spread throughout the world. Physical
anthropologists (scientists who study the physical differences
and prehistoric development of human beings) now avoid classifying
people into races, but rather try to learn more about human
diversity by studying how human traits vary throughout the
world. The amount of melanin variations in genetic code pairing
has been charted by scientists to show what skin tone a person
is likely to have, but the basic purpose of melanin is to
protect the contents of cells from harmful ultraviolet rays.
Why are we hurting each other over a substance that was placed
in our bodies to protect us from the damages the sun can cause?
Who is going to protect this fair city from the damages this
division is causing? We
have discussions and debates on whether we can get along and
make things work for all of us while we sit around doubting
and brewing in a pot of mess we concocted. Love is not about
debate or discussion, it is a decision you make. It’s
like a marriage. The goal of a marriage is not so much to
think alike as it is to think together. So, take the gloves
off. All the voters want to know is, can you balance a budget?
Do you have the ability to properly lead a city? Do you have
the drive, vision and integrity to charge the City of Brotherly
Love in a positive direction? Divisiveness does not make a
world-class city, innovation does. Do the ideas you have conform
with the needs of the city? This is not a black race or a
white race; this is a mayoral race. Mahatma
Gandhi once said, “Once one assumes an attitude of intolerance,
there is no knowing where it will take one. Intolerance, someone
has said, is violence to the intellect and hatred is violence
to the heart.” Dr.
King said, “Nonviolence is not a sterile passivity,
but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation.” Jesus
said in John 17:22, “And the glory which thou gavest
me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are
one.” Somebody
else once said, “Don’t argue with idiots. They
will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience!” I
say, “Stop hatin’.” God
bless you my brothers, and may the best mayor win. Rev.
Deborah L. Williams Williams
is the Republican candidate for the 8th District City Council
seat. Ed. |
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