Profits not a good reason

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Article Last Updated: 04/14/2008 08:44:23 AM PDT

To the Editor:

I have just read another letter to the UDJ touting marijuana because it swells the coffers of our local merchants. This view represents a prevalent attitude in our nation -- the notion that if something turns a profit it must be good. Sadly, the bottom line seems to be the only criterion our culture uses to evaluate anything.

I submit that profit should be the lowest item on the scale of criteria by which we judge. Suppose we were to make our choices by the following:

Do my actions preserve the beauty and natural resources of this special place where we live?

Do my actions benefit my fellow citizens -- especially the most vulnerable such as the elderly, the children, the needy?

Do my actions instill virtues such as altruism, unselfishness and compassion in our young people?

In my view, simply making a buck doesn't stand up to the measure of my responsibility to my fellow citizens.

Janet Freeman
Ukiah