LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Re: Martin Cooper’s column “We American’s Give Good Hate” from June 22nd issue. What an abominable piece of commentary to write at any time but especially galling on the eve of our country’s 233rd birthday. I almost missed it and initially thought it must be “tongue-in-cheek” or reprinted from some leftist Ivy League university “rag” or maybe from a Michael Moore blog not in a “Business Journal.” You couldn’t find anything good to say about America or “Americans” and transferred all that negativity to the good citizens of the San Fernando Valley. Our parents and grandparents worked hard, sacrificed much, fought side by side in two World Wars, many died and many returned to start families and raise their children to be better educated and obtain what can only be called the American dream. Your version of the American Dream was our citizens, especially in the LA/SFV area spending all our waking hours engaging our darker side of human nature by hating our fellow man. What a twisted sense of patriotism and lack of gratitude. But let’s start with the Founding Fathers and their great experiment a land governed by the people, of the people and for the people. It was quite unique on the world stage. Did you forget American History? Was it Hatred of the British that caused a revolution and solidified the country you call home? Was it hate for President Lincoln to free men from slavery and then fight a war over it to preserve a union that stands to this day? Didn’t he recognize the perils of enslaving a race because of the color of their skin? Yes we have a stain of racism and discrimination on our hands but we have come a long way to make good on the promise that all men are created equal. Does it matter to you that the man in the White House today serving as President is a black man. Was it hateful to welcome oppressed people from all over the world to our shores under the banner of Freedom and Liberty? Many a foreigner emerged from their place in steerage to see the beacon of light symbolized by Lady Liberty in New York harbor. They came to escape hate and death and build a life in a nation that opened its arms. Do you even know the words that are engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the statue of Liberty? “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” —Emma Lazarus Name another country in the world that embraces this kind of diversity. You are quick to mention all the immigrants who were “hated” when they showed up. My family came from Italy and my father told stories of how the Irish made it difficult. And I’m sure the Germans made it difficult on the Irish and ditto for the Jews, Polish, Russians, French, Chinese and Japanese, Latinos etc. Was it hatred that these same immigrants fought and sacrificed their lives on foreign shores for you and your family to flourish in modern day America? You can bet there many who settled in our own San Fernando Valley. Was it Hate that drove those brave young men on to beaches at Normandy that launched the invasion of Europe and the liberation of that continent that had already fallen to Hitler’s Nazi machine. Was it hate that motivated the American GI’s to free the thousands of Jews still left in the concentration camps. And all we ever asked in return was the counties involved to provide us with enough land to bury our dead. That, my friend, is an example of what the Bible refers to as “no greater love than to give one’s life for his friend”. I have a news flash for you. Hate has been around a lot longer than America or its citizens. Let’s go back around 5,000 years to the Bible again and Book of Genesis where the first murder occurred. Remember Cain slaying his brother Abel. And what about the Egyptians who enslaved an entire race of Jews until Moses arrived on the scene. It didn’t stop there. Five thousand years of history portrays and illustrates what we should know all along about man’s sinful nature and inhumanity applied to other men. You conspicuously leave out such modern day atrocities like Stalin’s Gulags; Cambodia’s killing fields, the Rwanda Genocide and Darfur. And for good measure lets throw in the beheading of American Daniel Pearl and others from those peace loving followers of Islam, who have this penchant for showing their “hate” on the Internet all over the world. And we haven’t even mentioned 9-11 but a person of your ilk probably thinks we asked for it. America is surely not perfect and never claimed to be. But its citizens have strived to stand in the void between a good and evil world. In the dark days following WWII Pope Pius XII said “The American People have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.” As William Bennett has stated “We are indeed the “last best hope of Man on Earth”. Try and remember some of these facts and insights as you watch the skies light up on July 4th while you reflect on all the blessings our God and this country have bestowed on you. Not the least of which is the freedom to speak your mind without reproach. I’ll leave you with a poem that expresses the larger truth about an America you must have forgotten or somehow never knew. It Is the Soldier By Father Dennis Edward O’Brien, United States Marine Corps It is the Soldier, not the reporter who has given us freedom of the press. It is the Soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech. It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the Soldier, not the lawyer, Who has given us the right to a fair trial. It is the Soldier, who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protestor to burn the flag. Michael Parente Woodland Hills Cooper responds To say that we Americans give good hate does not imply that we do not also give good love. Only a society that can admit its weaknesses is truly free. Equality for all is based on admitting that inequality exists. Contrary to the letter writer’s opinion, my column has spent many more gallons of ink pointing out the positives of our community than its negatives. Just a few examples: a salute to America’s veterans (Nov. 2008); The LAPD (May 2008); nonprofits serving the community (Jan. and April 2009); and patriotic American songs and songwriters (May 2009). While many of my columns extol the positive aspects of our community, a good columnist should expose the negative as well as praise the positive; condemn the former and salute the latter; and look at things as they are, not as we would like them to be. Martin M. Cooper More Taxes Would Harm Overseas Business At a time when the state’s unemployment rate is at its highest in over 30 years, the fact the Congress is considering piling on additional tax on U.S. businesses with foreign operations is truly alarming (Commentary, Greg Lippe, “Congressional Plans are a Threat To California Businesses at Home, Abroad” July 6). Our economies, especially those of the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, is linked to international trade and commerce. Making the current climate even more difficult by leveling additional taxes on firms with international operations will stifle growth and hurt the very business innovators that will ultimately help lead us out of the economic downturn. Sharyn Quinn Vice President L/B/W Insurance & Financial Services, Inc. Valencia