Posted: Monday, 09 July 2007 13:57
by Dave Mindeman
Just a couple of comments about Katherine Kersten's column in the Star Tribune today. Her column is entitled:
NORTHFIELD'S HEROIN-LINKED WOES SYMPTOM OF A GREATER ILL
She identifies a serious problem. Northfield does have a high crime rate as the city's youth subsidize an increasing drug problem. So, I was curious about the "greater ill" this is linked to. I thought she might have a study that had been done by one of the local colleges.... or maybe some first person accounts of families affected by the drug issue and how it has affected them in other ways.... or possibly interviews with city and law enforcement officials about what they perceive as additional issues.
Nope. She made something up.
She tells us about a recent plane flight she had, where she saw a young person watching videos with "scantily clad, tatooed women" which could have been "filmed in a brothel".
As Kersten puts it, the underlying problem is a "philosophy of hedonism and radical individualism".
Now, Katherine can go into her moralistic diatribes anytime she wants....its her column. But at least be honest about what you are saying. She has no verifiable connection between Northfield's issues and the "excessive pleasure seeking" causes she outlines. No data, no study...not even conversations with anyone in Northfield.
She just used her imagination.
We certainly have problems to deal with.... but let's look for real verifiable causes to those problems. It is only then that we can find real solutions. In Katherine's world, those disgusting videos may be distasteful, but linking them to all the world's ills is not a solution.
Note to Kersten: If you want to write a column that has value, you first have to make it honest.
