To the editor:

“Truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it.”

Does truth matter anymore? Do people care if their beliefs are true? Is it helpful to deny reality lest you offend? If a doctor has a morbidly obese patient, should she tell him that all is well? And if she dared to speak the truth, should she tell him that he is in such condition because of all the companies that make unhealthy food? Would this help the patient? Or should the doctor tell her patient that, although he is making bad choices with his lifestyle, he has the power to change? Which is best for the patient: an attitude of blaming others or an attitude of empowerment?

In a sermon from 1953 Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “One of the most common tendencies of human nature is that of placing responsibility on some external agency for sins we have committed or mistakes we have made. We are forever attempting to find some scapegoat on which we cast responsibility for our actions.” And later in the same sermon “We are not responsible for the environment we are born in, neither are we responsible for our hereditary circumstances. But there is a third factor for which we are responsible, namely, the personal response which we make to these circumstances.” And so given this choice, I turn away from blaming others as a real solution, and instead, I side with Martin Luther King, Jr. Personal responsibility and making good choices in life are what matters most, but how often do you hear this? You don’t, yet it is by far the most important piece of the puzzle, it is what the good doctor tells her patient and a part of what Martin Luther King, Jr. preached.

So in pursuing personal responsibility, what do some of the “good choices” look like? Though they might not be easy, they are simple: Graduate high school, don’t have kids until you are 21 and married, stay married, and get a full-time job. Research shows that if you do such things, your chances of falling into poverty are just 2 percent. Why don’t we ever hear this advice? Why don’t CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBA, NFL, ESPN, et al, with their huge captive audiences, pass on such wisdom? Wouldn’t it be better for a young person to hear that he has the power to make his life better if he makes good choices? Wouldn’t it be better than the incessant garbage he is fed by such groups that poison minds and breeds fatalistic attitudes? Makes you wonder...

In closing, it is a very dangerous game being played. Like gasoline to a fire, the non-stop vitriol incites more violence and destruction and does nothing to help anybody. Rest assured, this is not just my opinion, but it is an opinion shared by many Americans, of all colors, who value personal responsibility, who recognize the importance of good decision making and understand that it is nearly impossible to improve yourself in life if you are not willing to face the truth.

Matthew Fletcher

Barrington