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Letters
Is the problem carts or the stores?
It appears to me that many stores lose their shopping carts not due to homeless who use them to carry their valuables, but rather to pedestrians who use them to haul their groceries home. Quite often I'll witness many carts around bus stops. In a society troubled with traffic congestion and automobile-related pollution, would it not seem wise to research ways which would promote people to walk to stores and educate people to return the carts to their proper place?
The plans of grocery chains, such as Safeway, seem to focus on discouraging walking in an effort to increase profits by preventing pedestrians from carrying their groceries home. It is understandable that chains, like the Safeway in Sunnyvale, have little concern for the community life and the health of their customers.
They have a tendency to locate the entrance to their stores far from bus stops, they often don't provide bicycle racks, and they make no effort to recycle grocery products. We know that things could be better by viewing those grocery stores around the nation and in other countries that charge deposits for bottles, charge for grocery bags, provide bicycle parking, position their stores conveniently close to bus stops, and even deliver grocery products free of charge for those who do not drive. Until Safeway and others learn how to benefit our communities, shop at local grocery and health food stores. For now, the best way to prevent grocery cart theft is to encourage people to purchase their products at stores which will improve our health, life and communities. With no customers, they will lose no carts!
Daniel Kuettel
Sunnyvale
Heintze editorial fails to convince reader of lawyers' 'lovableness'
From Carl Heintze's essay, we learned much about lawyer "groupie-ism" and less about the "lovableness" of the legal profession. (It may be true that lawyers are often accorded the respect due riverboat gamblers.) He writes: "Lawyers are unloved not because they are unprincipled, but because their basic function is to act as advocates."
In all fairness, why can't an advocate be unprincipled besides? Is there a law against it? He writes: "The true lawyer manages...to retain a separate set of principles by which to live (in private life)."
As a redeeming countermeasure?
We know that lawyers range from the defenders of the poor to the hired guns of lung cancer merchants. Luckily, not all of them are unable to follow their profession's noble tradition of seeking justice and/or making a lot of money.
Robert Thoen
Sunnyvale
Tips on how to raise a nonviolent child
Almost monthly there are examples in the news of troubled youth who are destroying their lives and the lives of people all around them. As society searches for answers, rarely do we hear public officials simply suggest that parents need to be more involved in their children's lives or that we need to do a better job teaching morals. More than any law government can pass, these two actions will do more to insure your child will stay out of trouble and on a road to success. How involved are you in your child's life? Consider these questions: Are there large blocks of time when you do not know where your child is? Do you know who your child spends time with? How much do you know about those individuals and their families? Do you know what your child is reading and watching and listening to? When was the last time you cleaned out your child's closet, drawers and other hidden areas? Can you have a candid conversation with your child? Do you discuss current affairs?
All children, especially teenagers, will resist a parent's oversight to some degree. Further, it is an important part of every child's development to have the opportunity to practice independence and decision making. But parents should never give up the right to veto a poor decision. If you are not aware of the decisions your child is making, you have given up your veto power.
Some folks might argue that a child has a right to privacy. That is fair, but not unconditional. For a minor, privacy, like trust, is a privilege which should be earned and can be forfeited.
As current affairs involving troubled teens arise, try to examine them as a learning experience. What can we learn from others' mistakes? By discussing each event with your child, you will have the opportunity to raise questions on decision making, parenting and values. These are opportunities to point out what happens to kids whose parents are not paying attention to their children. Your children will see the dangers of not living a righteous and moral life. If a teenager understands what being a good parent involves, they are more likely to accept that parenting when it is applied to them. When they have seen the consequences of immoral behavior, they will be more likely to choose a path of righteous behavior.
While we as a community must support each other in raising our children, there is no outside individual or organization who can replace parents. Children of all ages need parents. Yet no parent has all the answers to child rearing. By working together as a community we improve everyone's chances for success. If you have questions or concerns about your child, don't hesitate to seek help, but most important of all, start devoting as much of your attention to your child as possible.
David Doering
Cupertino
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
