Reply #4: I prefer this response:

[Melinda]

Re "A test of family values," Aug. 15: It's difficult to imagine a family such as George and Dee Ann Heath and their three sons. They stand at opposite ends of the Iraq situation: the parents protest for peace and nonviolence; the sons join the military and go overseas to fight. Yet they treat each other with respect and love, a true anomaly in our current culture of harsh division.
Family could be a mitigating factor in enabling mutual respect, but it's not automatic. Look at the example of Cindy Sheehan's family.

Imagine if the pugnacious, offensive voices of talk radio and their ardent fans could state their positions more reasonably and without demonizing opposite views. Imagine this more civil, more courageous approach to disagreement trickling its way up through society until one day (dare I dream?) it would reach all the way to ... Congress.

Let's call it the Heath family model.


- Mike Ferrick, Sacramento


http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/letters/story/13446363p-14287384c.html
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Aside: Your Ltte writer appears to be the exception to the local rule from whence this Carmichael resident types. :hi: