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Puzzlement and Dismay

It was with a combination of puzzlement and dismay that I read in the May 10 edition of the Courier that a group of petitioners in Guilford feels that “the best way to combat intolerance in town is through the establishment of a human rights commission within the town charter” [letter “Keep the Momentum Going” by Bruce and Teri Linkov].

Combat? Really? Are we not capable of realizing the ideals they cite through the course of our involvement with the institutions we cherish in Guilford—our schools, churches, neighborhoods, and many organizations—whose acts of charity, compassion, inclusion, and fraternity far, far outweigh the “several acts” that one of the writers cites as evidence that such a commission is needed?

“We seek to ensure ongoing mutual respect” one of the petitioners writes [May 10 story “Residents Ask for Human Rights Commission”], and another notes a need for the “respect of our neighbors” [May 10 letter “Important to Know the Values” by Ginni King]. One might argue that it is respect we should strive for—that is, respect for the laws that govern human nature. But the commission these petitioners seeks seems more like a hammer in search of a nail to pound. As an alternative to using town government as an intermediary to define and protect our rights, why not use the parameters laid forth so elegantly by the founding fathers in our Constitution and its amendments as our guide?

Jameson Garrick

Guilford