Time to Rechannel Weapons Economy to Peace Products

Sheldon’s Karlan’s response (Letters, Feb. 25) was interesting and informative, as was The Times article, “Bush Is Caught in a Pentagon Time Warp” (Feb. 19). It is a sad commentary that many people fear that we in Orange County (and much of our country) are totally dependent for our livelihood on developing billion-dollar exotic weapon systems.

I suggest that it is possible, and ultimately imperative, for our highly competent citizens, including scientists, engineers and industrialists, to restructure our economy, and convert our companies to developing constructive, life affirming products and systems. The expense for this would be absorbed by the elimination of new offensive- and defensive-weapon systems.

The money would be channeled into the present military-dependent companies to begin research and change to a peace economy and would include furthering space exploration, perfecting more efficient, cleaner energy sources, cleaning up our planet’s ecosystem, improving human ecology and quality of life, new products, and providing quality education and teachers.

There is so much to be done to make the world safer and better. Our collective minds, (beginning with the desires in each of us and expanding, as Karlan suggests, to our government and industrial leaders) need to get together, replace fear with faith and solve this problem.

PRU TEDDER

Sunset Beach