Ayers reaping what he hath sown

Bill Ayers is quoted in your April 1 edition as saying the cancellation of his Naperville appearances is "absurd" and "outrageous," and claims that it "has all the hallmarks of suppression of speech." What Mr. Ayers fails to recognize is, first of all, that his canceled appearances are exactly the result of our freedom of speech. The community has stated that it does not want to provide a platform to someone whose idea of free speech includes radical violence. Does he think we should allow Osama bin Laden to come here and speak freely to our school children? Second, Mr. Ayers has unwittingly provided one of the best lessons for our children; one which I have spent a lifetime trying to teach my own son, which is called the SOC Principle. It states that for every situation (S) which one encounters there are multiple options (O) from which to choose; and that for every option there are consequences (C). So that when one encounters a situation and chooses an option, one should be prepared to accept the consequences of the action. This principle is stated in many other ways most of us have heard in the course of growing up, for example: Sooner or later one has to pay the piper, or, as you sow, so shall you reap. Mr. Ayers is now reaping the consequences of his earlier actions in his younger days. He may just now be learning that you can't perpetrate violent protests against the government or anyone else and just walk away from it, expecting that people will consider bombings just another form of free speech. Hopefully, this will provide a life lesson to our children, giving them cause to stop and think about the consequences of their actions before they make unwise choices without thinking.

Marvin Schulgen

Lombard