Questions, but No Answers

Ever see a newspaper or television report and wonder, as Paul Harvey often does, about the "rest of the story?"

Yours truly is always wondering about such things, especially when they portray problems that need attention, but aren't getting any.

Newspapers, frequently, are deluged by readers who demand to know why the news is always negative. They want to know: Why don't you print the good news?

The truth is that good news is rarely news at all! If you've got a barrel of apples that are good, fresh and tasty, that's nice, but it's the one or two bad apples that get the attention -- and rightfully so. To correct any problem, it is first necessary to define what is wrong!

A Few Things I Wonder About

Here's a few things I wonder about; things I think demand attention but, unfortunately, are being ignored:

* * * Why is it that when some poor soul steals a loaf of bread the jail sentence he gets (if indeed he's caught and arrested) is often more harsh than the sentence given to someone who stole a truckload of bread -- or, worse, someone who embezzled enough cash to buy the bakery.

* * * Why is it that I have to pay a $25 parking fine, which hurts, when the guy in the Rolls Royce next to me pays the same $25, which doesn't hurt him. Is there no such thing as equal justice?

* * * The executioner's ax (or lethal injection, etc.) has been swinging freely lately, and convicted murderers (i.e., people, albeit unloved people) have been losing their heads in large numbers.

States Exact Their Pound of Flesh

People who think the state should execute (kill) people who commit grievous crimes must be elated by the recent turn of events. Maybe now states can really get their pound of flesh and begin putting people on the rack for jaywalking! That'll stop those careless lawbreakers.

Doesn't anyone realize, or care, that violence (by whomever) begets violence? If you want your children to be nonviolent, do you beat them into submission to teach them that lesson?

* * * Why is it the bond and stock markets celebrate when people are miserable? If unemployment goes up, that's great! If wages go up, that's terrible news! That's a fantastic way to keep inflation down, isn't it? If the wealthy can just keep hundreds of thousands of people out of a job, they'll reap big rewards. If the unemployed then go on welfare, or become homeless, who cares? They were shiftless and lazy anyway, right?

We're Left Holding the Bag

* * * How come banks and insurance companies can send us letters declaring: "We have added five more requirements you must meet, and we're increasing our fees by 20 percent. If you don't like it, cancel your card." They have all the leverage. Our only option is to give up our credit card or insurance, and if we apply with another company, they'll have the same one-sided power. We're always left holding the bag.

* * * The same applies to water companies, garbage haulers, telephone companies and the government -- and the list goes on and on. It's easy. They tell us what we have to do, and we have to do it.

Let's get smart !

I wrote this column as a "My View" for The Hour newspaper of Norwalk, Conn., on May 3, 1997.