Early American wisdom
Re "To be a Paine patriot," Opinion, Jan. 30
After decades in which monopolists have been allowed to run riot through our economy, concepts such as the collective good and the public commons are music to my ears.
The patriotism of Thomas Paine; immigration reform; art and the Smithsonian
Thomas Paine believed that the chief measure of Americans' patriotism was their willingness to sacrifice in proportion to their means and abilities. A patriot would forgo maximizing profits — even forgo profits altogether — if they came at the expense of the soldiery, the poor or the national debt. Paine's belief suggests that we look to ourselves if we are to heal our ailing nation.
Sacrifice and selflessness used to be considered American ideals. Our national dialogue asks us to accept that "too big to fail" is somehow good for us. Paine offers us a solution that worked in the Depression: We're all in the foxhole together. All we need to do is pull in the same direction.
John Thomas Ellis
Kentfield, Calif.
If Barbara Clark Smith would like to hark back to Revolutionary times, that's fine by me. We'd have small government, no income tax and no redistribution of wealth other than what the churches would collect for the truly needy.
That's why they call it the tea party.
Richard Shapiro
Los Angeles
Can we all join together to turn America around?
Certainly, as soon as we repeal Roe vs. Wade, trash regulation and ensure that everyone's right to carry a loaded assault rifle is respected.
Then we can all tackle our biggest problems: unions, the war on Christmas and illegal immigrants.
Marvin J. Wolf
Mar Vista Heights
Border control and deportation
Re "Working on immigration," Editorial, Jan. 31
Why do Democrats and The Times continue to insist that a path to citizenship is necessary in any discussion of immigration reform? We legalized millions of illegal immigrants with the amnesty of 1986, promising it was a one-time thing and that we would effectively seal the borders against further illegal immigration.
We now have more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the country, many of whom hope to become legal residents.
Rewarding those here illegally will only encourage more to follow. A better answer would be to deport as many illegal immigrants as humanly possible and then open the debate on immigration reform.
Workplace raids and the mandatory use of E-Verify are far better solutions than the DREAM Act.
Bill Wallace
Corona
Are illegal immigrants "carrying a forged driver's license or using a fraudulent Social Security number" committing only "minor offenses," as the editorial claims? Isn't using a forged license even worse than driving without a license, since it enables further fraudulent activity? Doesn't widespread use of fraudulent Social Security numbers undermine the entire system? Is tolerating these offenses "effectively enforcing immigration laws"?
And isn't hiring drug and human smugglers to enter the country illegally a serious offense? How can taking this route be considered an auspicious first step on the "path to citizenship"?
Why isn't the existing "path to citizenship," followed faithfully by legal immigrants, good enough for the undocumented?
Howard Hurlbut
Redlands
We need to be treating the cause of why so many Mexicans risk death, injury and hardship to come to the United States. Mexico lacks public safety and an economy that provides hope for a future, so families migrate north.
In 2006, Steven Hill, writing in the Washington Post, proposed a Tex-Mex Marshall Plan, with the goal of decreasing disparities on the Mexican side of the border and fostering a better climate for investment. The U.S. would provide subsidies to create jobs and a middle class, boost homeownership and build infrastructure. Fewer Mexicans would want to emigrate north.
We need a comprehensive plan that deals with causes and not symptoms. The plan would begin with passage of the DREAM Act.
Allen Peters Baldwin
Lake Elsinore
Not so savvy at the Smithsonian
Re "An artless move at the Smithsonian," Opinion, Jan. 31
Although I agree with Tyler Green's criticism of Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough for pulling David Wojnarowicz's video "A Fire in My Belly" from the institution's "Hide/Seek" exhibit under pressure from the Catholic League, had Clough cited artistic grounds instead, I'd have completely concurred.
I was OK with the brief scene of ants crawling on the crucifix, but by the time I got to the mouth being sewn up by unseen hands, I decided the amateurish film wasn't artistically even warm.
Call me a Philistine, but if that's art, I'll eat it.
Spencer Grant
Laguna Niguel
Would Green be calling for the ouster of Clough at the Smithsonian if the artwork that provoked so much controversy had depicted ants crawling on a crescent and star instead of a crucifix?
Allen Hagenbaugh
Pasadena
Paying what you owe
Re "Debt was charged off, not forgotten," Business, Feb. 1
Add my name to the list of those who received a "past due" notice from Capital One — not only one but, after three month's time, I received another.
FEATURED
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