THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702220029
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letters
LENGTH: 157 lines
HERITAGE
Admirer of Albright
I have been an admirer of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright from the first time I saw her on television articulating America's position at the United Nations. Her clarity and forthrightness were just the qualities that the world's leaders needed to hear. She represented America well as U.S. ambassador to the world organization.
When I read that her grandparents were Jewish and were killed in concentration camps, and her parents converted to Catholicism, I understood their response to the anti-Semitism so endemic to Europe. After reports appeared that Albright may have been aware of this history before The Washington Post reported it, I understood her possible reticence to acknowledge it. Even in America, in some circles being Jewish can be viewed as a handicap in achieving recognition in some fields.
I hope that in time she will understand the special gift it is to have a Jewish heritage. Perhaps it will give balance to the perceived view of some that it is a handicap.
Some 3,200 years ago, an ancestor of Albright's stood in the Sinai when Moses was given the Ten Commandments, changing the course of history for all time. That sounds like a long time, but it was only 80 grandparents ago. The Jewish people, just 13 million in a world of 5 billion, have made an enormous contribution to world history. Two great religions, Christianity and Islam, are offspring of the ethical monothesism of Judaism.
Despite the Crusades, the Inquisition, the pogroms; exile from England in 1290, from France in 1391 and from Spain in 1492; the Holocaust; the vicious anti-Semitism in much of Europe, the Jewish people survive. Virtually every other ancient civilization has disappeared, but Judaism persists and continues to influence the world's values.
Jews constitute less than 2.5 percent of America's population and contribute disproportionately to universities, the professions and the arts. The only area where we are underrepresented is in the penal institutions of the criminal-justice system.
There is much more that I could say about the special gift it is to be this generation's link to the next generation of those who identify with the Jewish people.
I have only good wishes for Madeleine Albright in the important work she has undertaken. Her grandparents and her parents would be very proud of her.
Robert M. Rubin
Norfolk, Feb. 13, 1997
GUN CONTROL
We don't need more laws to stop crime
Your Feb. 10 editorial, ``Survivors, unite!'' which supports even more gun-control laws, neglects to mention one very important fact. In each tragedy you cited existing gun-control laws were most certainly violated. But, as usual, we are never told if any investigation revealed how these teen-agers got their guns or if anyone will be prosecuted for supplying them.
As regards the suggestions for yet more laws, please consider:
1. Young perpetrators are already breaking the law to obtain guns due to their ages or criminal records. Do you think they would stop to apply for a license?
2. Initial gun sales are recorded. Why not use this information as a starting point to determine how perpetrators get their guns and prosecute for illegal sales or transfers, using the laws we already have?
3. As previously reported in your newspaper, most ``kitchen-table'' gun dealers have already been driven out of business by more costly and stringent federal and state licensing requirements.
Certainly, the needless deaths of youngsters at the hands of young criminals is a national tragedy, but we need much more effective deterrents than more laws that are already so blatantly disregarded by these violent criminals.
Joan M. Beauchamp
Virginia Beach, Feb. 14, 1997
INSURANCE
Reforms needed but don't overgeneralize
Regarding the Feb. 9 business article, ``Fraud case drags down life insurance industry'': I am a 21-year life agent with a major insurance carrier (not Prudential) and a broker for other carriers. This Associated Press article paints a pretty compelling, albeit one-sided, picture of my industry in general and Prudential in particular. Yes, we've had some problems as an industry and, yes, there's need for reform.
What I take umbrage at is the part titled ``Steering Clear of a Scam.'' It should be noted that those tips are the opinion of Robert Hunter (Consumer Federation of America) and not fact. It's a disservice to the industry to make one-size-fits-all comments like, ``For most people, cash value products . . . are very rarely the right choice'' or ``cash value policies . . . are only appropriate for high income people.''
The percentage commission an agent receives has nothing to do with the product recommended to a client. Besides, the ``always recommended'' term insurance many times generates a much higher ``percentage'' of commission than the dreaded cash value products.
I wonder if the reporter would be willing to disclose her compensation for sitting at her word processor and composing this piece. I'll wager it was much more than the commission I received on the last policy I sold.
Robert E. Woods
Chesapeake, Feb. 13, 1997
REGIONALISM
Intercity feuding takes toll again
The Rhinos fiasco has shown us the true nature of our cities' governments. Pettiness, infighting and revenge rule the day in Hampton Roads. As major-league hockey joins the Southeast Expressway, the Lake Gaston pipeline and the Isle of Wight speedway on the scrap heap of Hampton Roads regionalism, one can only ask, ``Is this area afraid of success?'' It would seem that this is so.
Having lived in Northern Virginia for a few years, I saw true regionalism at work. No one ever complained that Fairfax wanted something that Arlington didn't want, or that Alexandria was holding a Falls Church project hostage. Washington, D.C., refrained from mounting a public campaign against Baltimore's getting an NFL franchise.
As I look around my office (which is at the Beach), I see people who live in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton and Moyock, N.C. Obviously, the success of any city in the region is inextricably wedded to the success of all the cities in the region. I can only hope that we realize this before it is too late.
Mike Eovino
Norfolk, Feb. 13, 1997
COMMUTING
Widening Va.-N.C. highways would
benefit locals, too
This is in response to the Feb. 11 letter, ``Highway 17: Dead man's Alley?''
I take exception to the remark, ``It seems that getting tourists to the Outer Banks of North Carolina has a higher priority than moving North Carolinians back and forth to their jobs in Virginia.''
Highway 168 is used by many North Carolinians to travel to their jobs in Virginia, to shop and get to medical facilities. It is not just for the tourists. There are very few tourists at this time of year. Sit at the Carolina line on Highway 168 and count the cars going to Virginia every morning. I believe you would be surprised at the number. They include my husband and myself, as well as most of my neighbors.
I personally think Virginia should widen both Highways 168 and 17, but whether North Carolinians get to Virginia to work has never been important to Virginia, nor is it important to Virginia for the tourists to get to the North Carolina beaches.
I don't think the Virginia Department of Transportation will reprioritize what they are doing, and I don't think they are in any rush to widen Highway 168 or Highway 17.
Jean S. Spencer
Moyock, N.C., Feb. 13, 1997
COMMUTING
More HOV lanes won't help
A Feb. 19 story notes that another ``consultant'' has recommended that we add 9 miles of HOV lanes to I-64 in Hampton. What astounding nonsense.
To think one can solve commuter problems by limiting access to two of the six lanes of traffic (33 percent of lanes available) to the 7 or 8 percent of the travelers who can or will car pool makes no sense at all. Trying to force individuals who seldom live or work near enough to their neighbors or co-workers to car pool has never worked.
If the HOV lanes on I-64 from Chesapeake to Norfolk were just made limited access (as they are presently configured), all of the cars going to the Navy base could use all of the road and the congestion would be greatly eased. Why not try it for just one year?
David M. Hummel
Virginia Beach, Feb. 19, 1997