Focus Attention on Redevelopment Tactics

Once upon a time there were evil kings who at will took land and money from their subjects. The common people had no rights and no way to protect themselves. Finally they rose up and created documents like the Magna Carta, later the Declaration of Independence and Constitution to protect themselves from tyrannical rulers. They set up a government that was supposed to protect individual rights as well as the common welfare.

For a while, the system seemed to be working. But the story does not have a happy ending. The evil kings are back in power, taking land and money from their subjects. They masquerade behind the guise of “redevelopment” and victimize people like Dick and Leanne Curts and neighbors (Times, Letters, Oct. 25.).

Fortunately, there is a knight in shining armor who often comes to the aid of the “common folk.” That knight is the media in its various forms. We can no longer look to our rulers for truth on issues, protection from oppression or leadership to mobilize on issues of common importance. Instead, we constantly find ourselves looking to the media for assistance in these areas.

Hopefully, the “pen” is mightier than the bulldozer, and if enough attention is brought to bear on the unjust practice of “pillage and plunder” in the name of redevelopment then the homes of Dick Curts and his neighbors can be saved.

CATHY HOWARTH

Covina