LETTERS: FREEDOM IS A CHOICE

To the editor:

I read with great interest Jack Stapleton's column, "Voter turnout: Is democracy disappearing?" In it he writes, referring to electoral participation, "The democratic system of our forefathers has slowly eroded over the years." After a comprehensive report on numbers, indicating a lack of voter participation, he concludes that the four out of five voters who didn't go to the polls said the issues weren't important. He then concluded, "When freedoms are no longer viewed as important, they cease to exist. Is that what our country is coming to?"

I had just completed writing a column for publication the day before which may add some light to his conclusions. The title of my column was "A misconception of misconduct." An excerpt:

"I think there is a virus that is eating away at the social fabric of what was once a great society, changing the perception of the moral values within that society, a virus infecting our educational, political and social arena by neutralizing the concept of being able to distinguish between right and wrong. It removes the point of view, teaching of and principles of right or wrong. Thus, the function of moral theology will cease to exist. I further believe this virus now has America lying on its back heading for sudden death. It is a virus that says right is wrong and wrong is right until black and white, through blending, become such a gray area we are no longer able to distinguish right from wrong. This virus is called 'Misconception of misconduct.'"

In conclusion, freedom is a choice. When we can no longer detect the black-and-white line in an issue nor see the choice, it is no longer a freedom. This is what our country is coming to.

RON FARROW

Cape Girardeau