|
|
The U.S.-Mexican Border and a Goosely Honk
The memo about Our Lady of the Washing Machine
has amused recipients, but
we should reverse the dictum and say that what begins as comedy may repeat
itself as tragedy. The farce was staged in Palo Alto, which, with
neighboring Menlo Park, is statistically the most educated, or rather
instructed area in the United States. The twin communities used to be well
and soberly run, but in recent years their administration has been
distorted by individuals and congenital naysayers, some of them San
Francisco weirdoes and politically correct people who should have gone to
Berkeley. There was an attractive yacht harbor by the Bay, but a political
Carrie Nation persuaded the council that it should be abolished. The boat
owners had to take their boats to Redwood City, up the Bay, and a pleasant
spot was lost.
This is just one example of what happens in a highly educated community,
Think of what might befall a metropolis with huddled masses, like Mexico
City. The hopes in the new governor, Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, may be an
illusion, and we should always be ready for an explosion in Mexico.
This brings us back to the border question. The comparison with the Roman
times and the fall of that empire startled some, but they should realize
the it came from a warning goose, not a silly one. Our learned vice
chairman David Wingeate Pike sent this comment:
"Footnote on lead and the Roman Empire. Of the 337 reasons for the fall
of the Empire, lead is not included. Roman pipes had no faucets; Roman
doctors knew all about lead poisoning and while they had antidotes they
took care to warn Roman women of using lead in their cosmetics; you can
find such warnings in Pliny."
Ronald Hilton, 12-11-97
|
