Nude pictures on phones
Re: “Naked truth about kids’ world,” March 11 Diane Carman column.
Diane Carman’s column was a frightening wake-up call to parents. The balance of societal mores has shifted in a quantum fashion. The boundaries have not only been blurred, they are now non-existent. There was a time when society upheld many values and parents balanced the scale on what was considered decent behavior. The media seem driven to smother our children in the steamier side of life and places this lowest common denominator on nearly every sitcom. Our children are drowning in a culture that is making money from what seduces and defiles their values. Parents, do you have the courage to stand your ground? If you don’t have a plan, society does. And that will be the litmus test of self-respect for your child. It is not going to happen without your direct intervention in their lives. Do you feel intimidated to go against the popular trends in society today? If so, you are in the same quicksand as your children. Decide on your vision. Commit to it. Decide how you will know you are reaching your desired outcomes. Self-respect will be a byproduct, but so will accountability and moral integrity. Is there a higher calling for a parent?
Sara Sykora, Littleton
…
I agree with Diane Carman that the Douglas County School District ought to work with parents to raise kids’ self-esteem.
I would ask Carman to elaborate on the basis for one’s self-esteem. She offered no thoughts in this area. Is it based on looks, weight, family standing in the community, intelligence? I suspect she would rightly deny any of those. Yet, before we hurry off to bolster one’s self-esteem, shouldn’t we have some idea on what it is based? With religion banned from the schools, to what can we appeal as the grounding for self-esteem?
Perhaps science would have us believe that our self-esteem is based on natural processes that have us at the top of the food chain. Others, however, would deny that we are any “better” than any other living being and have no intrinsic worth beyond any other living thing. Unfortunately, the grounding for one’s intrinsic worth is beyond science and poses a real hurdle for the secular world. Christians, of course, would argue that we have intrinsic worth because we are image-bearers of the living God.
Mike Brown, Arvada
Global warming
Re: “Going nuclear on warming,” March 11 Perspective article.
Global warming is serious, as Bill Becker explains, and the solutions are complex. However, there are more direct ways to state the solutions. Regular people can do some of these things now.
For example, turn down the thermostat 5 degrees at night, drive less, and get a vehicle that gets at least 30 miles per gallon in the city. Install compact fluorescent bulbs, buy the most energy efficient appliances, buy a hybrid car. Support (by voting and buying) renewable energy: solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and the new transmission lines. Next, support non-carbon-dioxide-emitting energy, such as nuclear electricity (waste disposal at Yucca Mountain is a political problem not a safety one; nuclear non-proliferation is no longer dependent on U.S. sources and technology). New studies indicate that new coal plants may not be necessary if conservation, efficiency and renewable energy are maximized.
Joel S. Leventhal, Lakewood
Mayor Hickenlooper
Re: “Tales of Denver mayors; Aide looks back at 24 years of leadership,” March 4 Perspective article.
In his essay about Denver’s past mayors, Andrew Wallach left out Mayor John Hickenlooper’s legacy of Greenprint Denver. Since Andrew is the one who told me about Greenprint Denver, I cannot figure out why this serious omission occurred.
Hickenlooper is the first Denver mayor in my memory who committed publicly to make government practice what it preaches. Last summer, in his State of the City speech, the mayor promised to make changes in the government in Denver toward sustainability. In fact, on March 2, the mayor was honored by the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education with the President’s Award for his Greenprint Denver initiative. He talked about what his team is doing to improve City and County of Denver government practices. The list includes energy conservation, green building, urban design and transportation, water conservation, waste reduction and other things to improve our environment.
Mayor Hickenlooper is keeping his campaign promise and will leave that legacy to all of us and our children. We all need to recognize his work.
Liz Gardener, Denver
The writer is manager of water conservation for Denver Water.
A second Colorado state song
Re: “John Denver’s 1970s ballad “Rocky Mountain High” gets OK as second state song,” March 13 news story.
As a person who has lived in some beautiful areas of this country – western Washington, California north coast, northern Nevada and north-central Arkansas – I have not found anything to exceed the beauty of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I was first drawn to that the area by John Denver’s song that has just been adopted as Colorado’s co-state song. I spend as much time in Colorado as I can spare and afford, and have not at any time heard the song “Where the Columbine Grows.” It may be beautiful, I don’t know, but what most of us who do not live in your state recognize is the draw of “Rocky Mountain High.” I was excited and more than pleased to see official recognition of a man who has done more than any other I know to draw attention to the state of Colorado. It is my loss that I do not live in your beautiful state. Maybe someday.
Jon Williams, Plainview, Ark.
…
Re: “A better second state song,” March 11 Ed Quillen column.
Ed Quillen’s flippant writing deserves some musical counterpoint even after the legislature’s vote established “Rocky Mountain High” as an official state song. Apparently Ed is unfamiliar with the extensive number of original songs (80 or more) that John Denver wrote, many of which capture in a few lyrics the wonderful ways we experience the natural beauty of Colorado.
Quillen’s column reflects a real ignorance of Denver’s gifts as a balladeer whose work parallels the romantic sensibilities of the American Transcendentalists, of the English poet Wordsworth, and the Medieval romantics.
Len Schreiner, Longmont
Childhood lost: The Post’s look at effects of sex abuse on children
Re: “Childhood lost,” March 11 news story.
The Post’s article brings to mind the glaring hypocrisy of the vigorous prosecution, incarceration, restricting and labeling of sexual predators who are strangers to their victims and the lack of same for those who are in a position of trust to their victims.
The article states that most victims know their abuser and that educating kids and parents about sex-abuse prevention helps deter sexual predation. Letting perpetrators off unaccountable, however, sends the loudest message to kids that somehow persons they trust have license over their bodies. The lack of punishment also adds to victims’ confused feelings of guilt and shame and their inability to come forth with information.
The justice system, schools, and parents should first and foremost teach kids that this is a heinous crime; that even if the offender is their own father, it is imperative for their own safety and well-being to remove the abuser from them and society. Investigating and prosecuting persons of trust with the same vigor as stranger perpetrators would benefit kids themost.
Kathleen Freeman, Aurora
…
The Post is to be commended for this article. It’s a thorough, thoughtful look at a devastating problem.
While there is, as the article points out, “no quick fix” for child sex abuse, there are proven, inexpensive steps that can reduce such horrific crimes. In fact, Colorado lawmakers had an opportunity to take such a step last year by reforming the archaic, arbitrary and predator-friendly statute of limitations. Instead, they caved in to self-serving Catholic Church lobbyists.
For 200-plus years, we in America have enjoyed a flawed but essentially fair justice system. But that system is closed to most child sex-abuse victims, who sometimes need decades before they understand they’ve been hurt, realize the harm is ongoing, and learn that they have legal options. Sadly, by then, usually the civil and criminal statutes have run out, the victim is trapped, and the predator goes free.
It’s virtually impossible to “cure” a child molester. But it is possible to get a molester caught, exposed and jailed after his fifth victim instead of his 55th victim. It simply requires compassionate legislators with the backbone to stand up for kids and against powerful lobbyists.
Barbara Dorris, St. Louis
The writer is outreach director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
TO THE POINT
State Sen. Scott Renfroe thought it was a “frivolous thing” for the state legislature to waste an hour considering “Rocky Mountain High.” But he proposed legislation to ban abortion in Colorado.
Now we’re talking about a real waste of time.
David Steiner, Allenspark
The military conflict in Iraq has much in common with the weather: Everybody taks about it but no one seems able to alter its course.
John L. Davis, Denver
Isn’t it wonderful that Congress and the Colorado legislature are subsidizing ethanol from corn, which is driving up the price of food? Since corn is becoming SUV-fodder, when will the food subsidies begin? Oh, if only efficiency was a virtue.
Greg Scott, Evergreen
To have your comments printed in To the Point, please send letters of no more than 40 words to the address below. Writers are limited to one letter per month.
To send a letter to the editor
E-mail: openforum@denverpost.com (only straight text, not attachments)
Mail: The Open Forum, The Denver Post, 101 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 600, Denver, 80202; Fax: 303-954-1502
Guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 200 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.
To reach us by phone: 303-954-1331
Online extras: For more letters to the editor, go to
