In defense of the American way – and Ken Lay
Re: “Greed, Enron and the death of Ken Lay,” July 12 Open Forum.
I take offense at letter-writer Paul L. Whiteley Sr.’s contention that greed is our country’s major moral/spiritual shortcoming. I have worked with thousands of businesses over the last 30 years and can count on one hand the few that were not honest and fair to their vendors, their employees and their customers. The ones that are greedy and think they are above the law, such as Enron, have their stories splashed all over the news for months. The majority of companies go about their business quietly, working hard, providing jobs and producing needed products and services. Many put their personal assets down as collateral to get the line of credit necessary to even start the business. They risk losing everything to achieve their dream. To imply that many are Enrons, or are constantly tempted to be Enrons, is an unfair and unrealistic view of the businesses in this country. The U.S. is not a greedy nation. It is a nation of hard-working people who strive to achieve and deserve the rewards of their achievements.
Susan Fantle, Denver
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It is disturbing how many Americans judge Ken Lay even after his death. Are people afraid to admit that he actually might have been innocent in his heart? Has anyone thought that some people are just too dumb to do the jobs they have? Some people are hoodwinked, buttered up, promoted beyond their capacity, and are filled with egotistic notions that overshadow their real job by suck-ups below them who want a promotion. I don’t know anyone who has not had a boss like that.
History shows it’s always easier to go with the flow, to say bad things about someone who has had many bad things said about them. But it is even more admirable to not follow the crowd. Let Ken Lay’s maker be the judge. Stop saying bad things about someone who cannot defend himself.
Linda Nelson, Boulder
Moral absolutism and the war against terror
The youth of our nation have always learned visually, and Sept. 11, 2001, was a significant teacher. Amid our tears on that fateful day, we learned that there is such a thing as absolute evil. Innocent men and women were massacred. The absolute vileness of Sept. 11 proved to us that humanist ethics, which is taught as fact in public schools, is entirely false.
Humanist ethics, also known as moral relativism, asserts that morals are determined by an individual. If this assertion were true, those who carried out the terrorist attacks would have been ethically right. My visual generation knows otherwise. Crashing planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was (and is) morally wrong for all people, in all cultures, at all times in history.
My generation is seeking the moral absolutes that we know exist. We also know that the absolute evildoers (Islamic extremists) must be dealt with. We will do everything in our power to keep it from happening again. I am 15, and I join my fellow youth in boldly proclaiming, “God Bless America!”
Trevor Waliszewski, Larkspur
Civil unions and wills
Re: “Courting gay-marriage laws,” July 13 editorial.
The Post is in favor of same-sex civil unions because, among other reasons, they would “protect inheritance rights.” Excuse me, but every person of sound mind has the right to leave their property to whomever they choose. It is called a will. A person can – gasp – go to an attorney and have one drawn up. If that is too much trouble, a person can go to a bookstore, office supply store or the Internet and find fill-in forms to make a will.
Perhaps The Post is thinking of the laws of intestate succession, which govern the distribution of property in the absence of a will. Such laws are merely the legislature’s best guess of how a decedent would want his property to be distributed when there is no will. Although such laws express the wishes of a majority of people, they are not perfect. There is no reason to rely on such laws when the decedent’s true wishes can be exactly satisfied by a will. If there is truly a long-term, loving and caring relationship, it is hardly an undue burden to make out a will to protect the survivor.
Clay Berger, Crested Butte
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