Letters
Lessons Learned From British Gun Ban
I strongly disagree with the editorial "Banned in Britain" (May 27), which supports the Blair administration's attack on private ownership of handguns and tobacco advertising in the United Kingdom.
The author suggests that the United States could learn a thing or two from Great Britain on these subjects. I think we already have! More than 200 years ago, we rebelled against this same form of government tyranny because private citizens possessed firearms and the courage to protect their individual liberties. Our forefathers chose the individual liberties expressed and guaranteed under our Constitution over safety and comfort. Thus our conception of freedom and the responsibilities that it entails is unique.
Instead of trampling on the rights of millions of innocent, law-abiding handgun owners, or on companies' rights to compete through advertising, the Monitor would be better advised to advocate tougher prosecution and sentencing of individuals who commit crimes with handguns.
The rest of us are intelligent and responsible enough to decide if we should possess a handgun or tobacco products without the intrusion of government.
Robert Majors
Ash Fork, Ariz.
A low-tech gender gap
A comment about "High-Tech Gender Gap" (May 27): The focus of the article seemed to be that women were losing ground after their advances made into high tech, and therefore have less chance at higher-paid positions in the work force.
As is often the case, we ignore the fact that financial gain need not be the only measurement of success. Home care does not pay a huge salary or get serious recognition, but as a home care worker myself, I can say that learning to care for others in practical ways can teach many lessons about life - lessons high-tech experts may never learn. And in this rewarding job there is a gender gap, too. It is dominated by women.
Let the women hunt down the computer jobs - I'd like to see more men overcome the stigma that keeps them out of the kitchen and away from the diaper-changing table. If you care about people, the jobs are out here. Sure, women give great care, but they need not dominate this "low tech" field!
Rob Sherman
Toronto
Worth 1,000 words
It seems that so often when my eye is arrested by a striking photo in the Monitor, it turns out to be by Melanie Stetson Freeman. Her wonderful "Magnitude of Sea Stars" was only the most recent of many. Thank you for giving me the pleasure of seeing her fine work so often.
Jane Kepp
Santa Fe, N.M.
Clearing the air
Regarding the opinion-page article "Even If Global Warming Is True, Clinton's Policy Is Wrong" (May 15), it is a known fact that, per capita, the US is the biggest air polluter on the planet. It will take some time for developing countries to catch up, even if we make considerable effort to curb our use of coal, oil, and other fossil fuels. And when they finally do catch up with us, hopefully the US rate will be much lower.
But until we Americans bring our per capita emission levels down, we have no credibility when negotiating with developing countries about their increasing air polluting levels. Therefore, if the Clinton administration's approach to global warming means "deliberately slowing down the economies of the United States and Western Europe" so that developing countries can catch up with us economically, that makes good sense.
Such an approach will not only address the problem of America's out-of-proportion contribution to air pollution and global warming but will also contribute to a narrowing of the economic gap between nations, which will in turn reduce the immigration and population growth pressures on the United States. It's a win-win approach.
Rudy Ramp
Arcata, Calif.
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