Of Lights, Death

Things aren’t always as they seem.

At first glance, there would seem to be little similarity between the protracted death of Robert Harris and the efforts of some San Diego City Council members to light up the night with street lamps unkind to the scientific work going on at Mt. Palomar and Mt. Laguna observatories. On the surface, of course, the link is crime. The rationale behind executing murderers and lighting the streets with multiple wavelengths is the same: both measures are supposed to make us safer. Most of us are neither scientists nor criminals; public support for both capital punishment and “brighter” lights is strong.

That support, however, is based not on reality, but on perception. There is not a shred of evidence that the death penalty deters crime or that the lights, which interfere with astronomy, make our streets safer than the cheaper, observation-friendly low-pressure sodium lamps now in use.

But both measures apparently make people feel safer, and to certain elected officials, that false perception is a legitimate basis for public policy.

The long journey toward ending violence is not advanced through violent retribution. We Californians have now compounded the awful crimes of Robert Harris with a violent act of our own, another small step backward on the road to enlightenment.

Replacing the low-pressure sodium lights would be a step backward as well, for the exacting study of the stars is really the study of existence itself, and our role in it. If this is not important, nothing is.

A false perception--even if shared by 80% of the people--is still false. We have the power to act on our perceptions, as demonstrated at San Quentin and possibly soon in the skies over San Diego County. But we also have the ability to distinguish actuality from appearance, and act accordingly, for the betterment of us all.

HENRY GARFIELD, San Diego