‘Clubs in a Changing World’
After reading your editorial I found myself quite depressed. There was one line in particular that I found distressing, “The law, though, is moving to enforce what free will can be reluctant to bring about.”
Is this something to be proud of? I was under the impression that “free will” is what this country is all about. Is it no longer our right to associate with whom we please? Apparently our government and The Times don’t think so.
I am not a member of any private club or exclusive organization, but I respect the rights of those individuals who are. I believe people have a right to associate with whomever they wish.
In the past, the government has told employers who they must hire, private business who they will serve, private schools who shall be admitted, landlords to whom they must rent and now private organizations are being told they must admit everyone. Quotas have been set and laws have been passed, but at what expense to individual choice and freedom?
In view of the current social climate, can the last bastion of individual choice of association, the choosing of our own friends, have long to stand? Why aren’t there laws requiring everyone to fill out a questionnaire listing our friends and associates by race, ethnic background, religion and sex? If a person did not achieve his predetermined quota for each group perhaps he could have his taxes increased as punishment for his social misbehavior.
If this approach fails to put the person on the path to social justice perhaps we could set up “Social Rehabilitation Centers” to “counsel” the individual in regard to his social obligations. Finally, if the person is intractable and still wants to choose his own friends, there are medications and surgical procedures that can render an individual more socially malleable.
Perhaps I shouldn’t use irony to illustrate my position, it might give lawyers like Gloria Allred more ideas.
RICHARD SCHAEFER
Santa Monica