Letter of the law, other profound missives to ponder
Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but we get our fair share of letters to the editor that are replete with spelling and grammar errors, overwrought with capitalization and exclamation points!!!
Sometimes the ideas put forth, especially those addressing national issues, are not terribly original. We've had other letter writers, from both sides of the political spectrum, call out their Fence Post brethren for lifting thoughts - if not complete passages - from Web sites, blogs and such, or blindly parroting back whomever's philosophy they happen to be in tune with and has told them to fire off letters to the editor.
Again, not a thing wrong with any of this; that's why we present this forum, to give our readers a voice. Still, I have to tell you it's refreshing to see some letters that don't bash the Democratic/Republican parties, rant about health care/rave about the people ranting about health care and so forth. Two such letters came in this week. I felt compelled to run them on today's opinion page, just because I liked them so much. Here's why:
Charles Elwert of Addison got my immediate attention by mentioning the not-so-merry days of England when taxation of windows prompted people to board them up. I'd never heard of such a thing, but the analogy was clear: We have a comparably archaic tax system in Illinois, in which the taxable value of one's property is based on several-years-old assessments. It seems especially unfair in this economy when you're being taxed on a market value that appreciably exceeds the realistic value of your home.
Who can't relate to the injustice of that? Mr. Elwert, you hit the nail squarely on the head.
Similarly insightful is Rick Avgerinos of Itasca. He shows some real gumption by challenging the assertions last month by some high-level police officials who suggested people ought to stop bellyaching about those red light cameras and just obey the rules of the road.
Ah, if only the debate were quite that simple. As Avgerinos put it, he and others aren't questioning whether laws should be enforced, but are challenging the notion of whether the value of the "transfer of wealth from private citizens to local municipalities" is worth it, given a possibly marginal safety impact.
It can be dangerous to try to discern someone else's motives, but Avgerinos suggests the police might be trying to quell the debate. "Red light cameras have legitimate uses," he concedes, "but enforcement for right turns is eminently debatable."
Love lettersSpeaking of letters, a story about a 43-year-old letter was unfolding as I write this. It came to us in the form of an e-mail from Callie Coventry, who was trying to locate the owner of a letter that drifted into her back yard on Easter Sunday. It was dated May 25, 1967 - a poem from a soldier to a girlfriend or wife back home.We didn't know it at the time, but Coventry had contacted numerous media from her home in Homer Glen - well outside our circulation area. We apparently were the only ones who initially bit on the story.And here's where the joys on the Internet comes in. Reporter Elisabeth Mistretta wrote up the story Wednesday night, even volunteering to serve as intermediary for anyone who might have information leading to the author or recipient of the letter. Beth put her e-mail address at the end of the story, which we posted online Thursday morning. Within hours, Beth heard from someone who recognized the names in the letter and helped us get in touch with the soldier and his bride, still happily married. Their story appears on Page 1 of today's editions.Which is why I say: Keep those letters a-comin'.jdavis@dailyherald.com