Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 3, 1994 TAG: 9410040002
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Who will decide what materials are controversial? Library board member Ronald Savage, who made the motion that the board consider the proposal, has stated that he isn't in the business of micro-management in regard to how the library would select materials for the adults-only section. In other words, he has no idea how his own proposal might be carried out.
This is clearly a thinly veiled attempt at censorship, plain and simple. Parents and legal guardians bear the full responsibility for monitoring reading habits of minors. Librarians may offer guidance concerning the quality and content of certain pieces of literature, but it isn't their job to serve as monitors and censors.
Librarians are dedicated to the principle of free access to information for everyone. Situations, such as the one at the Fairfax County Public Library and the effort to restrict access to the book ``Daddy's Roommate'' at the Montgomery-Floyd Regional LIbrary, make it quite obvious that there's an effort under way to deny freedom of access to information to everyone. Librarians will always oppose such efforts, and we'll fight them tooth and nail.
JAY STEPHENs
President
Roanoke Valley Library Association
ROANOKE
He beat the rap, but the crime remains
WHEN OLIVER North is accused of lying under oath, his defense is that he ``misled Congress to save lives.'' The jury of regular Americans who found him guilty of three felonies, including misleading Congress, didn't accept his ``saving lives'' excuse. That conviction could have cost him 10 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, the loss of his right to vote or hold public office, and even the loss of his Marine pension. On appeal, he beat this rap by the trickiest possible legal technicality (that Congress had forced him to confess) with the help of a high-priced Washington lawyer.
Ronald Reagan, in a letter to Sen. Paul Laxalt, denounced North for lying about orders North says Reagan gave him. Also, more than 12 of North's closest associates told a Reader's Digest reporter (Digest, June 1993) that North lied regularly about small and large things.
Contra leader Adolfo Calero entrusted North with $100,000 worth of blank traveler's checks to pay Contra expenses. At North's trial, the government showed that he had converted at least $4,300 worth of these checks to his personal use, cashing them at gas stations, supermarkets and other stores.
Isn't it sad to think that Virginians, so rightly proud of their statesmen throughout history, might elect North to the U.S. Senate?
AUGUSTUS C. JOHNSON
SYRIA
Courts don't fairly treat divorced dads
IN RESPONSE to Teresa Carter's Sept. 7 letter to the editor, ``A ticket for dads to go free'':
It was the final straw in a recent barrage of anti-male, anti-father comments from feminists' garbage that I've seen in the media these past few weeks.
I, like the majority of fathers in this country, love and support my children with my time, income and myself. It's particularly offensive to me, as a parent, when I hear cliches like ``deadbeat dads'' - as if all fathers are to be lumped into only one category and as if there are no deadbeat moms.
For every mother I know whose ex-husband doesn't support his children, I know of an equal number of situations where it's been the woman who left the children with the father without giving her support, financial or otherwise.
Second, money is only part of the issue. Children need love and guidance of both parents, which means time with the mother and father. Unfortunately, in Virginia, divorces aren't administered fairly. The bottom line is that it doesn't matter how many laws are on the books, what counts is how they're applied.
Why is it that if a man ignores his obligations as a father by not supporting his children, he'll go to jail, but if a woman refuses to allow the children to be with their father, even though court-ordered, very little ever happens? Why is it that fathers aren't considered in an equal manner to mothers when it comes to child custody?
Those parents who don't give financial support should be fined, but apply the law equally in all matters. To contend that fathers are only good for financial support and don't know how to love and care for their children or want them is so outrageously appalling. It's hard for me to understand why anyone would think this way. It's untrue, unfair and just plain wrong.
BILL FLEISHER
RADFORD
North has liberals gnashing their teeth
YOUR Sept. 15 editorial (``The Barry-North nexus'') brought a smile to my heart. Desperation is obviously growing for the four ultraliberal editorial staff writers as they watch Oliver North capture the hearts and minds of Virginians and other Americans.
The wringing of hands and the gnashing of teeth, which one can picture in that editorial board room, must be a sight to behold, and brings a feeling of hope to all moderates.
It must have been difficult for the editorial staff to make a comparison between North and Marion Barry, knowing the affection that must exist for Barry. The staff should be aware that one of North's greatest virtues lies in the fact that he's committed to principle, and his staunch views on everything from the economy to moral virtues are those that are held by the majority of Virginians.
I suspect we'll see more attacks on him from your staff, and they may well become more and more vitriolic. It should be apparent by this time that people of the Roanoke area, Virginia, and most of the United States don't embrace the liberal socialistic views that are so obviously held by your editorial staff.
I suggest they might be happier and find more professional satisfaction in writing editorials for New York City's Greenwich Village Voice.
JOHN J. ENGEL
MARTINSVILLE
Parole is one "cause" of crime
IN YOUR Sept. 12 news article, ``Ex-inmates say ending parole is a mistake,'' James Phillips asked: ``If I was to go to prison now with a 20-year sentence without the possibility of parole, what is there left for me to do?" No crime, no 20 years.
Alvin Lewis says Gov. Allen is playing on the fear of the public and using criminals as pawns. Criminals are the ones to fear - they're doing the raping and murdering.
Albert Jeter says the governor is taking the easy route instead of dealing with the cause of the crime. If criminals don't get parole, that deals with the cause of their crimes.
MARIE FOLEY
CATAWBA
Help turn kids' eyes away from violence
I'M ALSO concerned about the increase of crimes in this country, but more so about the state of our society as a whole. It's painfully clear to me that this is happening because we feed our children violence from the very beginning. It's not enough to restrict their TV viewing to what is age-appropriate, and give them nonviolent toys.
Our infatuation with violence is everywhere. Go to any toy store and there is at least a whole aisle of guns and weapons. Even programs geared to our children are all good guys vs. bad guys. For example, Disney movies are that way. The average child doesn't grasp the idea that the good guy always wins, even when it's explained to him. He's more taken with the fighting, and most definitely with the guns.
Children, especially boys, are naturally aggressive. Most make a toy weapon out of anything they can find. Why is that?
Few adults are willing to switch the channel from an adult show when children enter the room. I've often heard statements like, ``Well, you can't keep them from seeing this forever,'' or ``They'll see it sooner or later.'' And it doesn't work to explain, ``That''s not real, it's only pretend.'' Children still run off with a karate kick and their little fingers in the air shouting, ``Bang, bang, bang!'' (Now, they make the sound of a machine gun.)
My children are 2 and 4 years old. I'm trying to raise productive, generous, caring, level-headed children. Come on, society, give me some help.
JEANNINE MELANCON PARNHAM
CLIFTON FORGE
by CNB