Pubdate: Thu, 31 May 2001
Source: Northwest Florida Daily News (FL)
Copyright: 2001 Northwest Florida Daily News
Contact:  http://www.nwfdailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/313
Author: Carl DeVillar

DRUG HYPOCRISY

To the editor: I was pleased to see professor Machan's emotional plea for 
an end to the government's unconscionable "war" on so many of our most 
tragically miserable citizens (column, "U.S. war on drugs is insane, unjust 
and immoral," Daily News, May 27).

I suspect, however, that Tibor the Hungarian's words won't resonate with 
half-baked libertarians, social conservatives and others who are adamantly 
against government curtailing their ability to intrude on other people's 
lives, and who see no problem with that same government passing laws 
sticking it to those whose only "crime" is to mess up their own lives.

Another reason there is no uproar over the drug war, of course, is that in 
this most self-righteously moralizing of industrial nations, one needs to 
be a respected university professor - or a recognized maverick such as Bill 
Buckley - to be comfortable actively promoting viewpoints that may offend 
bosses, colleagues, customers, hair dressers, acquaintances, neighbors, family.

Well, hypocrisy by omission is hypocrisy nonetheless, and who among us is 
not guilty? It's not too late to change.

CARL DE VILLAR Destin
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