
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 2, 1992                   TAG: 9203020226
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DANIEL ESAU
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EACH CHOICE HAS FINANCIAL, MORAL LIMITS

MY SINCERE thanks for the commentary of Mike Hurley Feb. 19. There was more sanity in his article than in most entire newspapers.

I share his shame over the greediness of our generation. I know there are elderly people who need help, but most of the ones I know anything about are living high on the hog.

Modern Maturity magazine originally supported the proposed bill in Congress to increase the cost of health care for the elderly, but quickly reversed when the crocodile tears began flowing. I have recently retired and am amazed at the available deductions that reduced my tax bill. We can, and should, pay more.

We, all Americans, continue to demand high salaries and, at the same time, purchase cheaper (?) foreign goods. It doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to realize that will inevitably lead to a reduced living standard, if not economic suicide.

But then, what should one expect from a country that rewards players more than workers? The really big money goes to those who "play" ball, or who "play" roles (not to mention the "musicians" with lots of energy and limited talent). Where, oh where, is the organization that opposes this kind of obscenity?

We have a penchant for ignoring reality. We think we should have honest government leadership and fail to realize that our leadership is a reflection of us.

Ms. Cordle in her letter (Feb. 19) decries the opposition to school sex education, blind to the fact that it may well encourage teen-age sexual activity. And then there are those who tout "pro-choice" as the panacea of enlightened culture.

Every choice has limits: financial, social and moral. And it's idiocy to think that distributing condoms won't promote sexual activity, and there is no evidence that it will have any significant effect in reducing AIDS.

At any rate, that may be a moot point since the entertainment industry, openly and aggressively, and the news media, tacitly, promote promiscuous sex.

We can, and probably will, continue to erode the moral standards that made our country great, but not without paying a heavy price. Pogo was right! "We have met the enemy and it is us."

Daniel Esau is a retired postal inspector who lives in Roanoke.

by CNB