Ignorance is a powerful drug. Ignorance of anything allows the individual the latitude to indulge in flights of fancy and shout to the rooftops things that are believed but are far from the truth. The United States is currently suffering through an outbreak of deceit along lines that we have not seen in many years.
Ms. Lisa M. McDougald (letters, June 19 and July 3)has been attacking Councilman Bob Kellar over the past several weeks. Bob Kellar does not need my defense, but I will offer it in any case.
The branding of racism is popular now as a way of ignoring real problems and sending our focus in a different direction. There have been many instances of brutality over our 200-plus years of existence, some far more brutal than the George Floyd incident. None were justified and most were not condoned, but they happened, never the less.
Man is an imperfect animal. We have striven since our inception to overcome our base instincts and not always with success. Some today feel that if they cry racism and tar an entire group of people with the same brush, that they have actually done something positive.
One thing that you must bear in mind is that Bob Kellar is not a coward. We have seen cowardice demonstrated in all our major cities and by a number of our elected officials. The instinct to save oneself is strong in all of us, but there are those among us who feel strongly that to give in to fear is far worse than being harmed.
Over the eons, there have been efforts to improve mankind. Religions have sprung up in various forms and we have made strides toward greater understanding and less violence, but as you have seen, violence is one of our baser instincts and has many motivations.
Racism is not an issue. Ignorance is the cause of most of the problems of the day and those who seek to subvert the good for their own gain.
The positive sentiments that you alluded to are not solutions to problems. They are simply a way of marking time until the problem goes away. There are no new problems. The same problems have been with us throughout the history of man. The ancient Greeks dealt with these same problems and found that solutions were fleeting. A reading of Plato and Aristotle is usually quite helpful.
Jim Horton
Valencia
