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- LETTERS, Page 6THE LONELY WAR
-
- Vicious drug dealers who invade our neighborhoods are
- finally getting some real attention from those who suffer in
- their midst (NATION, Sept. 11). I am angered by the sight of
- pushers hanging out on the sidewalks. They conduct a repulsive
- business that sells death. This war will have to be fought
- street by street.
-
- James S. Brewer Elizabeth, N.J.
-
- As we try to win the battle of drugs on the supply side,
- how can we attack the problem of demand, which arises from the
- age-old weakness of unwillingness to accept the pain of life?
- Humans have always sought palliatives of one kind or another,
- but right now the American psyche seems especially vulnerable.
- Could it be that the long-term thrust of our effort should be
- focused on something as fundamental as character building?
-
- Marion T. Byrne Liverpool, N.Y.
-
- The drug war will be won or lost, as it always has been, in
- the family. Rantine McKesson, with her slogan, THE SUCCESS OF
- OUR COMMUNITY DEPENDS ON ME, puts the responsibility where it
- can work. Mothers and fathers who personally care for their
- children and their communities can be the most effective weapon
- in controlling substance abuse. When it acts as an extension of
- family will and love, government can win. If it must act alone,
- government is helpless.
-
- George E. Deering Worcester, Mass.
-
- I find it disturbing that major national newsmagazines show
- pictures of African Americans, who represent only 12% of the
- U.S. population, to illustrate drug problems in America. How is
- it that we appear to be totally responsible for drug abuse? Who
- owns the banks and other financial institutions that allow the
- dealers to launder their money?
-
- Glenn C. Adams Anderson, Ind.
-
- I am a graduate student from Colombia who believes it will
- be very difficult for the Colombian government, even with U.S.
- funding, to beat the wealthy drug thugs. We have already
- sacrificed many innocent people, and in the end the cartels will
- probably be stronger than before. The time has come to start
- thinking seriously about legalizing drugs.
-
- Manuel Duran-Lubinus Charleston, S.C.
-