America’s Wall

Instead of feeling smug about the demise of communism and the yearning for freedom and democracy in the Eastern Bloc, we might do well to look to the state of freedom and democracy in our own country. We’ve got a wall of our own that needs to come down--the wall between the power class and the ordinary citizen.

The HUD scandal, the savings and loan scandal, the defense contractor scandal (which has become strangely silent in recent months) demonstrate that the government is being run primarily for the benefit of the rich and powerful. Contrast these shameful happenings with the denial of abortion to poor women who are raped or victims of incest, the lack of health care for the poor, the measly rise of the minimum wage, the lack of child care, the wave of union-busting, and the picture becomes clear.

We’re building more prisons, but for whom? Certainly not for those who buy senators and congressmen and help them rip off the public. Not for people like Ollie North who tramples on the Constitution, not for defense contractors who bilk the public out of billions. Not for former members of the cabinet who made phone calls to colleagues to enrich themselves and their friends. For whom, then? For a guy who steals a loaf of bread or gets caught with a couple of joints in his pocket?

Come on, America. Let’s look at our own wall and start chipping!

BILL IDELSON

Pacific Palisades