THE PUBLIC MIND: IF THE PEOPLE OF CAPE REJECT GAMBLING, PROSPERITY WILL COME

To the Editor:

On June 8, the voters of Cape Girardeau will have the opportunity to vote on an issue that will bring great economic benefits to our community by voting on the gambling issue. It was not a typographical error when I said on and not for. I believe in the law of reciprocity which, in Christian terms, simply means that when you give to God he takes those gifts and multiplies them back to you.

Well, here it comes from one of those religious fanatics again, some of you are thinking. I do admit to being a Christian but as for being a religious fanatic, I don't think so because I, like Paul, am a sinner just like the rest of you. I do agree with Steve Strom's article the other day when he said we should ask what God would want as far as gambling goes. I cannot speak for God as to what He feels about gambling, but I can speak for me and I know that if a bunch of men were gambling over my son's clothes as he hung on a cross with nails in his hands and feet after being beaten half to death, I would not think too much of gambling ... excuse me, I believe the correct vernacular is "gaming." They were "gaming" as Christ hung on the cross.

I hear a lot of negative talk about the religious people in our community trying to force their moral values on the rest of the people here in Cape. I would like to exami~ne these values that we are having forced on us. First, there is the issue as to whether or not gambling in itself is wrong. If you are not a Christian then you would probably say it is not wrong. If you are a Christian then you would know that we are to be good stewards of God's financial gifts to us. The religious people in this town are concerned about the increase in crime in our community but there are those who say this will not happen.

I grew up in the city of St. Louis in a tough neighborhood and had the chance to associate with some criminals (when I was much younger, of course) and I can assure you that they go where the action is. The religious people in our town are concerned about an increase in prostitution in our town because every "working girl" will want to come here to be around the "high rollers."

And, of course, there is the drug issue, which the religious people of our community are concerned with because, after all, what better place to sell drugs than a place where lots of people have money in their pockets.

By now you are probably wondering just who these "religious" people are that I keep referring to. They are our ne~ighbors and friends that would like to see Cape Girardeau stay a nice clean town, free of gambling and all the other vices that it brings with it. Of course, from the other side's viewpoint, moral issues should not be legislated and no one has the right to tell he or she what they can or cannot do. This especially holds true if you are standing in the unemployment line wondering how you are going to pay your bills and maybe counting on getting a job on a gambling boat. It seems that voting "no" on the riverboat gambling issue becomes less a moral decision as an economic one.

If this is the case then, do the religious people of this town have the right to deny economic benefits to those who want gambling? This is a hard question and not one that can be easily answered. If as a Christian that opposes gambling, what can I propose as an alternative for someone who desperately needs to work to provide for his or her family? First, since it can be considered an economic issue for this community, we must try to put people in our community to work by providing jobs for them and then maybe they too will not feel the need for gambling boats.

A good way to start would be for the businesses in Cape to consider giving priority to its residents and encouraging more industry to locate here. I mentioned earlier the law of reciprocity and I truly believe that if the people of Cape Girardeau will refuse to allow gambling to come into their community that God will bless our city and cause us to have economic growth and prosperity.

William E. Ringpfiel

Cape Girardeau