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Sunday, March 21, 2010
Letters
Some Conclusions Embrace Fantasy
Re: The March 14 commentary by Charles Bowden from the High Country News:
Bowden presents a compelling image of violence in Mexico. He deserves credit for illustrating the situation for those of us who do not view it from his particular vantage point. However, some of his conclusions embrace fantasy, at least as much as those whom he criticizes.
• Bowden claims "the drug industry and illegal migration are the two most successful anti-poverty initiatives in the history of the world." Firstly, he is mistaken in his belief that illegal migration and the drug trade are one in the same issue. Although related and connected, the two issues draw their impetus from different sources. Illegal migration is driven largely by the need of the poor to find work. Although a difficult situation, illegal migration is more about need than greed. Thousands are not killed in Juárez because of their attempts to cross the border.
The drug trade, on the other hand, is driven by greed. The drug trade is largely predatory. The two issues, illegal migration and the drug trade, remain different issues.
• Bowden's second mistaken conclusion: When "the drug industry has poured tens of billions of dollars annually into the hands of ill-educated and largely poor people," it is somehow materially improving the situation of the poor.
A great deal of money is taken from the hands of other poor people. We can witness this in our own American communities. Small shop-owners in blue-collar towns find themselves regularly victimized by break-ins and theft so that someone else can buy drugs. Witness our neighbors across the border in Mexico. Bowden himself states it is the poor who pay for the drug trade with their lives. Just because cash passes through the hands of some otherwise poor people, we cannot conclude that the drug trade somehow improves the standard of living for poor people in general. What the drug trade does not do is redistribute wealth in a positive way: The rich remain rich and lose nothing to this trade, and a few profit substantially from it.
• Thirdly, Bowden flirts with fantasy once again when he states that our population will destroy large parts of the Earth's ecosystems. The areas of the world which seem to be overpopulated, for the most part, have a high older population. In the U.S., there are those who are considering the need for robots to care for the elderly 20 years from now, due to the lack of younger people to care for them.
Mexico, oddly enough, is an exception to that trend. Mexicans continue to have and care for children. Perhaps the illegal migrants are providing a service. Humanity is our most precious resource. When we wreck the world, it is because of how we live, not because of the fact that we do live.
Bowden apparently has become overly cynical, embittered and numb. When Hillary Clinton states that drug consumers are responsible for drug murders in Mexico, she is partly correct. Every time one of us buys illegal drugs it contributes to the problem.
On the other hand, the statement can be used for those in power to avoid dealing with the issues at hand. The U.S. can step up and provide needed assistance to our neighbors to the south, both in dealing with the drug cartels and improving the Mexican economy. In the end, such efforts will be to the benefit of both countries.
Chris Kelly
Ojo Feliz
Park Service Better Serves Preserve
Phil Parker's March 2 story, "Programs at Risk," paints a bizarre picture of the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The article seems focused on the possibility of a federal agency "taking over" the preserve, referring to such a takeover six times. The American people in the form of the federal government bought the former Baca Ranch 10 years ago as a result of overwhelming public sentiment in favor of acquisition. The property is already federal property as part of the U.S. Forest Service system.
Gary Bratcher is quoted as saying the trust is "light on our feet," yet after 10 years of trust management, the trust has provided no permanent restrooms, no permanent visitor center, no potable water system, no general transportation plan and only the beginnings of any concrete plans for these essential facilities.
On top of limited facilities, opportunities are limited, as well. The article notes that snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are "offered" two days a week. What if a visitor has only a few days in New Mexico? Will they consider the preserve when these opportunities are available at less cost on adjacent National Park Service or Forest Service land seven days a week?
None of the programs at the caldera is at risk from a change in federal management. The Park Service has many equivalent programs at sites across the country that offer far greater opportunities than those at the preserve.
The fundamental problem is that the trust, far from being light on its feet, is plagued by a continuously changing board of trustees that whipsaws the professional staff with changing priorities and direction. Further, the board of trustees has been lacking members for months at a time, while political and bureaucratic constraints delay appointments. While the current trustees have been more focused in their attention, there is every expectation this will change again in the future.
Federal agency management as a preserve with hunting opportunities, and administered by the Park Service, as advocated by Caldera Action, would provide the stability needed for the preserve to begin to be successful. Park Service management would provide recreational opportunities for a broader public and realize the promise of being a genuine economic asset for neighboring communities, while preserving and protecting the unique cultural and natural resources of this gem of public land.
Tom Jervis, President, Caldera Action
Santa Fe
Let Girls Inc. Run Arts & Crafts Show
I'm writing in support of Girls Inc. continuing the annual arts and crafts show on the Plaza. For 400 years, the Plaza has been the center of social, cultural and economic life in Santa Fe. Girls Inc., having opened their doors in 1955, helps continue that tradition by providing a well-run, first-rate marketplace for talented artists to sell their wares.
For 35 years, the arts and crafts show has been one of Santa Fe's most popular events, bringing literally thousands of people — locals and tourists alike — to the Plaza, contributing to the economy of our city and to the economic well-being of the participants. Most importantly, the show is a major source of funding for the operation of Girls Inc.
In these challenging economic times, let's not let the history of this joyful event and the history of Girls Inc. be compromised. Having the show on the Plaza ensures Girls Inc. remains financially positioned to continue serving the girls in our community and doing it in such a way that everyone benefits.
Mar Geaux
Santa Fe
Iraqi Democracy: Was It Worth It?
We now have what is called a democracy in Iraq, rife with religious and ethnic strife and severely oppressive toward women. Let's look at the cost.
More than 5,800 American, military and civilian, and 318 Coalition lives lost. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead, disabled, homeless and without employment. Tens of thousands of American and Coalition troops horribly mutilated. Almost a trillion in American and Coalition funds.
Countless Iraqi towns, villages, homes and businesses razed. Iraqi infrastructure — roads, hospitals, schools, markets, manufacturing, electric and water services — destroyed. Oil production and shipping halted for several years. Ancient artifacts lost. The Tigris and Euphrates Valley — the Middle East's breadbasket and the "cradle of civilization" — devastated and useless for farming. America's military capability seriously compromised. Most states' National Guards virtually stripped of equipment, weakening their capacity to respond to natural disasters and terrorist threats on home soil. Blatant violations of the U.S. Constitution and laws, and of international conventions. The United States' reputation blackened throughout the world.
Was it worth it?
Adele E. Zimmermann
Embudo
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