Letters to the Editor for Monday, August 31, 2009

Hedonism prevents U.S. from changing
Following are some thoughts and questions on a caring and human government, recognizing that in a democracy, government can be no more caring than the people.

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Today, there are nations that have managed to structure their governments so that most of their citizens have their basic needs met. We, in this country, have not as yet been able to do that, and we seem unable to consider the examples of other countries that have.

In the early 1960s, I recall a person of significance saying in effect that this country would need to become socialistic, meaning the final structuring of us as a most humane and workable society would be that of socialism, as a number of other countries have become.

Since so many of our citizens are crying out in their need, we have not become the caring nation we so often claim to be. What’s holding us back? We might consider the word “hedonistic.” Ethically hedonism means a “a gross self-interest.” Is that why we don’t want government to meddle with corporate power, even when such power determines what we can do and what we have? Does gross self-interest contribute to a lack of concern for less-fortunate neighbors? Does gross-self-interest create a blindness preventing considerations of what others have found workable for a fair humane society?

My understanding of socialism as a democratically derived structuring would be for a society in which the poor are not so poor as to lack basic needs for meaningful living, and the rich would not be so lacking as to continually be striving for more than they need. It would be structuring moving us closer to the caring and providing practiced by those Christians described in the Acts of the Apostles.
L. DONALD MORRISON
Concord

Bad behavior
This is really a letter of apology to Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Fifth District, for the insulting and abusive behavior of many of the people in the audience of his town hall meeting at Rustburg High School Friday night. Although I live the Sixth District, I wanted to hear what he said about the health care reform bills now in progress.

He held that town hall meeting in an effort to listen to his constituents and to try to explain things they might have asked about health care reform. He was providing them with a service. You would never have known that from their behavior. In spite of the request to get in line to speak at the microphone with all the other speakers, there were many rude shouts and interruptions from the floor throughout and much loud clapping and cheering when a speaker said something that they liked, drowning out the speaker and or Perriello and making it impossible for the rest of us to hear.

Most of the speakers themselves seemed intent on attacking Perriello, Nancy Pelosi, the debt, the government anything other than health care reform. One guy even said that he was supposed to be there to listen, not to talk so much.

I have to hand it to Perriello: He remained calm and answered the questions. Personally, I was incensed at the crude behavior exhibited and the ranting of some of the speakers. A lot of time was wasted for those of us who wanted to hear about details of the health care plan. I would have expected politeness and respect toward the speaker, not the circus that I witnessed.

Thank you, Tom Perriello, for being such a gentleman in the face of such an unruly crowd.
BETSY GRZYBOWSKI
Lynchburg