• Temper our compassion • Economic structures • Government and its ways Temper our compassion In response to Kimo Rosen’s “Twilight Zone” letter, the important issue here is that people are getting seriously fed up with irresponsible behavior. While I
• Temper our compassion • Economic
structures • Government and its
ways
Temper our compassion
In response to Kimo Rosen’s “Twilight Zone” letter, the important issue here is that people are getting seriously fed up with irresponsible behavior.
While I applaud the desire to show compassion to people, I honestly believe that in some cases we need to temper our compassion, because it can easily be misconstrued as tacit approval of bad behavior. At what point do you become an enabler because you are afraid of offending someone for repeatedly doing something idiotic?
In the current situation, the father did something which was so illegal and nonsensical as to be incomprehensible within the bounds of logical thought. He not only endangered his child, with tragic consequences, but he endangered the lives of everyone else who has shared the road with him.
He has had a history of violations of this nature, indicating that he has very little concern not only for the safety of himself and his own family, but everyone else. You don’t need to be “without sin” to see this — you just need to be able to see.
Now, perhaps people can be less harsh in their comments, but I think it is exceedingly short-sighted for people to not put some healthy, and perhaps stern, focus on the incorrect behavior that caused this tragedy. This is not an isolated incident — not for this particular father, and not even among the wider driving community on Kaua‘i.
We have a serious problem here with people not taking the responsibility of driving seriously. As a community, we all need to start expecting and demanding more of each other in terms of maintaining public safety on the roadways — you can not do whatever you want behind the wheel of your vehicle. Driving is a privilege, not a right.
Compassion, while noble, may not meet the end of making the roadways safe.
Michael Mann, Lihu‘e
Economic structures
Capitalism is an economic term. There are three major economic structures, capitalism, communism and socialism.
We have witnessed the death of communism, for the most part. Pure communism does not work.
Capitalism, which is essentially our economic structure, has a rather nasty habit of collapsing. Read a little history. I call it the manic depressive economy, boom, bust, boom, bust, boom, bust.
It also seems to have within its structure a decided greedy trend. One obviously must make a profit in order to stay in business, but one needn’t be a greedy hog.
Socialism is a middle economic path and what we know — we can measure — is that the happiest people on this planet live in secular socialistic democracies.
As for the drug wars, the Dutch have won that one because they have taken the profit out of the drug business. The government buys the drugs and paraphernalia and delivers them free. Drugs are very cheap, that’s why the drug industry profits. Buy low sell high is the rule of trade, and who would buy from a pusher if he can get it free? This approach also saves lives because the Dutch can make certain the needles and such are safe to use. Disease related to dirty needles is no longer a factor.
Bettejo Dux, Kalaheo
Government and its ways
Big businesses are not your enemy. They’re regular people trying to make a living, except they pay more taxes than you.
Please be respectful towards them for they create jobs, not the government. Side thought: A big business cannot take your home away, but the government can.
Many complain unions are bad; they can be if managed wrong. If your state is not balancing their budget they must do the right thing: cuts. Be thankful Wisconsin, you still have that 95 percent paid benefits and 91 percent paid pensions. Either take the cuts and pay your 5 percent and 9 percent or the state could: raise taxes on everyone, fire people, or like California — IOU tax return, no money back after filing.
The entire State of Hawai‘i is overrun by Democrats. House: 6 Republicans/42 Democrats. Senate: 1 Republican/24 Democrats. Led by our Democrat Gov. Abercrombie. Majority voting members in Hawai‘i’s Legislature are Democratic. There are only Democrats running the State of Hawai‘i. You’ll have to wait until 2012 to point a finger again.
The rail in O‘ahu is unnecessary. Who’s idea was it to copy Japan? Now the residents are stuck with a higher tax and a rail that will be done for their great grandkids to use.
The National Ocean Council is NOAA. Read the executive order, find the working organizations. A Humpback Whale Sanctuary is a well written federal control proposal. The government uses grassroots organizations to do their work.
Elizabeth Marin, Lawa‘i
