Prosperity-theology critique called
unfair to those who strike it rich

EDITORíS NOTE: The following letter is in response to John Northís column in last weekís Daily Planet headlined ìCoachís ëprosperityí priorities strike me as impoverished. î
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Your take on prosperity shows how differently two people can see the same subject. Iíve read yours and now Iíd like to share mine.

First of all, I go to the same church this man does, and I happen to know that he will tithe some of the winnings to the church. When was the last time YOU were in a position to donate this much money to ANY organization?

I think itís quite possible that Bill Gates didnít set out to be a philanthropist; he may have set out to get rich and incidentally became a philanthropist after he got a lot of money. In his tremendous prosperity, he is managing to do a great deal of good in the world, probably more than most impoverished people are able to do ó except for an occasional impoverished writer, who MIGHT manage to accomplish a great deal only with words. Someone like a Henry David Thoreau, perhaps, but not likely just the average writer.

I myself am not in much of a position to do a great deal for anyone, and I would love to be prosperous because there are so many things I can think of that I could do to help other people. (And sure, Iíd like to have more material comforts for myself, too!)† Iíd rather be able to contribute something to the world than to be a drain on it. People who are barely making it or who are living off the government are so busy just surviving that they may not have a whole lot to contribute ó not just in money, but in time.

And as far as ìgambling,î I canít see that putting out a dollar a week is taking a huge gamble or putting anyone in debt, BUT it may give some impoverished people something to dream about, something to hope for. Who knows, it might even help to keep them going through the hard times to be able to imagine coming into that big win. And in fact, it offers them the possibility of HAVING a lot of money, which they might not be in a position to possess otherwise. They may not have an equal shot at a good job because of lack of education, but in the case of the lottery, everyone has an equal shot, no matter WHAT their education or other circumstances.

Tomís win has certainly given me more hope and something more to dream about. Before this, I didnít think there was much chance of actually winning the lottery, but now I believe itís within the realm of possibility. So even if I couldnít see any other possible way out of my circumstances, I can see at least one. Even if I never won anything in the lottery, is there really any harm in my going through the rest of my life dreaming about what I will do with all that money I may win?

You can cry ìsour grapesî all you like, but it looks to me like people with money can do far more for the world than people without money ó except for the Edisons and Salks and others of that ilk, but even inventors and researchers can probably do more with more money. To quote Mark Twain, ìLACK of money is the root of all evil.î

DARLENE WRIGHT
Leicester

Recent speech-related arrests
raise concerns for letter-writer

Things around Asheville seem to be getting very odd. People are being arrested when there seems to be no apparent law breaking going on, and then the police and sheriffís departments are flipflopping around with the alleged charges.

The first major incident where this happened was, of course, the case of the Kuhns, who were obviously doing nothing wrong (displaying an upside-down flag in protest). The next one is this matter with (ìhighway bloggerî) Jonas Phillips ó Iím still trying to get a straight answer as to the exact violation of law in this regard, as it surely isnít obstructing sidewalk traffic.

My primary issue with these cases is the blatant disregard to the American concept, ìinnocent until proven guilty.î It seems in both situations, law officers took it upon themselves to decide that these people were automatically guilty, without having a valid charge associated with a statute of law.

Regardless, why didnít the officers tell Phillips that he was in violation of ìStatute ______î and ask him to leave until that could be sorted out? Why the immediate action to arrest the man? Itís not as if he was doing anything dangerous at all!

How long has H.K. Edgerton been standing over I-240 overpasses, dressed in full Confederate uniform, waving a Confederate flag, without any harassment by local authorities? Why is it that someone else doing the same exact thing is being treated so differently?

These recent actions of Asheville authorities are not being taken lightly by our local Asheville residents. I speak on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Buncombe County in contacting you regarding these matters.

We seek just and proper law enforcement, not unwarranted harassment and unjust arrests of our peaceful Asheville residents, and we are formally requesting that our Asheville City Council take action in this regard.

In liberty (what little is still left),
Bernard Carman
Asheville