Columnist Patrick J. Buchanan and letter writer Connie Athey raise similar questions in their separate opinion pieces Saturday.Who controls American culture is Buchanan's question. His answer? The liberal media. That's why, he says, Rush Limbaugh — whom Buchanan ranks with Socrates, Christ, Sir Thomas More and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn — is in trouble for his comments about contraception. But, despite liberal control of national media, Buchanan can publish his bestsellers and syndicate his columns across the country. The rest of us are free to share his opinions — or not.In Lima, Athey asks, who controls the size of our population? Her answer? “Mayors, city planners and whoever else let [population decline] happen.” Through recent decades, residents of Lima have moved away from the city, motivated by economic opportunities elsewhere or for social and personal reasons. Few, I suspect, moved away because the owners of the Lima Mall haven't power washed it often enough, as Athey points out. Residents of Lima who believe our city needs improvement are free to help by running for public office, voting in local elections and joining neighborhood associations. All of us can do that — or not.
Related Stories/Links
Patrick J. Buchanan: Rush Limbaugh and the new blacklist
Letter: Downtown key to Lima’s revival
Thomas J. Lucente Jr.: NY Times abandons free speech, awards Islamic violence
