LETTERS: TEARING THE FOUNDATIONS

To the editor:

In his Dec. 5 letter to the editor, Donn S. Miller of Tamms, Ill., takes Speaker Newt Gingrich to task for comments that Mr. Gingrich made following the killing of a northern Illinois woman and three of her children. I have only one question: How would Mr. Miller explain why this horrific act took place?

Many sociologists and anthropologists will tell you that the very root of human civilization began when mankind began to seek out monogamous relationships and began to forge family ties. Family gives one a sense of responsibility and a reason to strive to do better with your life. For much of the past 35 to 40 years, we have been engaged in a huge experiment where we have replaced the traditional caretakers of the family, parents, with an omnipotent federal government with seemingly endless amounts of money to act as provider to a family. Thus, in a sense, we have been tearing at the very foundations of civilization for many years. It is no wonder that uncivilized acts like this one take place far too routinely.

I suspect that the real reason that Mr. Miller is upset is that Newt Gingrich was absolutely correct in pointing to the welfare state as the main reason for the lack of distinction between right and wrong in this country. It is going to be a long, arduous process to reverse the thinking that has led us to this shameful point in American history, and people who refuse to acknowledge the truth are only going to make the process longer and more difficult.

KEVIN S. LASHER

Cape Girardeau