Stamp Out Spam
Thanks to Scott Henry for his excellent and in-depth article “Damn Spam” in your July 16 issue of Creative Loafing. His article brought out so much information on how the dirt bag spammers work. And more importantly why national laws preventing spam would be a bad thing instead of a good thing. If you remember the song by Glenn Frey (The Eagles) “Get over IT,” we should just change the wording a little to: Kill All The Spammers, Kill Them Tonight!
— Don Payseur, Charlotte
Capitalism For The Common Good
In “It’s the Globalization, Stupid” by Rob Slee (July 16), Slee starts with, “Capitalism doesn’t care about its constituents.” In a real sense, that’s true, because capitalism is actually neutral to all participants. All comers have the same right and opportunity to express their care with their dollars. The seller gains by receiving money, which he values more than his product, while the buyer gains by receiving a product, which then feeds, warms, shelters, or merely pleases him. Thus, both gain by the exchange of something they value less for something they value more. In a capitalist system, everyone gains, not by caring about some indefinable common good, but rather by each seeking his own benefit.
Socialism (a word Slee dares not utter) promotes a “common good” that no one can recognize. Some bureaucrat must decide what is the common good, then impose his definition on the rest of us. That is why socialist societies, including mixed societies such as our own, always tend to increasingly strong-arm government tactics. If followed to their logical extreme, we end up with Stalin, Hitler, or Mao Tse-tung massacring their own citizens for the benefit of the “common good.”
As a libertarian and capitalist, I believe that the only way to serve the common good is to honor the individuals that make up the common population. That means allowing each to pursue the values and interests he chooses for himself, not those imposed by some bureaucrat or busybody, no matter how well-intentioned.
— Rev. Christopher Cole, Charlotte
“No Ring” Insulting
“No Ring on My Finger” (by Laurel Chesky, July 9) insulted myself and I’m sure many other women, with every other sentence. I was married at 21, with our 18-month old son who walked me down the aisle. Community College served me quite well, and when I was ready, an accredited university was waiting for me. At 26, I’m a graduate student, a mother, a wife, and very happy in “treeless suburbia.” And, I take my life very seriously; this includes my education as well as my family’s happiness and well-being. It sucks that Ms. Laurel Chesky can’t see how others could possibly be happy with a family in their twenties. One can be a feminist, a wife, a mother and can appreciate other women’s choices for not having these things at a younger age. I don’t judge all of the 30-something women who chose not to have a family in their 20s. Why are these women judging me?
— Sabrena A. Kauffman, Charlotte
Judge Not
Why don’t you beam me up, Scotty Lukeskywalker, because there is no intelligence in the way you tried to degrade and demoralize the homeless of Charlotte (“Art Springs Eternal,” by Scott Lucas, July 2). I personally invite you to put away your worldly possessions like the most famous homeless man Jesus Christ said and follow me to find out what it’s really like, before you judge that which you do not know.
— Michael Anthony Wass aka Street, Charlotte
Christians Aren’t Fools
While I agree largely with Hal Crowther’s views on Fox News intentionally giving Bush a pass (“Weapons of Mass Stupidity,” June 4), I take large issue with his implied criticisms of Christians and I would point him to other information that sheds light upon this administration’s behavior.
Crowther implies that those who believe in Christian doctrine are stupid, and therefore incapable of understanding that they are being fooled by the current administration’s media machinations. This snipe is unworthy of the author and disrespectful to American Christians who certainly cannot be lumped together as a monolith.
I am a recent born again Christian and can tell you it is very hard to be faithful in these modern times. While it is a good question to ask how so many Christians could let themselves be deceived by the fraud this administration has perpetuated — implicitly in the name of our savior — this administration’s Christian roots appear to be as technically true as the State of the Union’s uranium claims.
There is much more to Christianity than the easy stereotypes perpetuated in modern times would have us believe. I ask Hal Crowther not to dismiss the author and finisher of his existence because the enemy has perpetuated crimes in the name our lord. Jesus himself took his last Passover meal with the man he knew would betray him, offering even this man compassion to the last.
Crowther touched on some very deep issues in his article. I encourage him to pursue it to its ends without writing off his potential supporters. Christianity is not a lie because some use it as cover for dark purposes. Rather it is our job as believers to bring this deception into the light so that it may not continue.
— Shawn MacFarland, Acton, MA
This article appears in Jul 23-29, 2003.
