Armstrong Misquote

In an article by Stewart Udall and Kent Olson (“Me First, God and Nature Second,” Commentary, July 27), I was quoted as saying “environmentalists want to destroy or at least badly cripple industrialized capitalism.” To set the record straight, I neither uttered nor penned those words.

Furthermore, I don’t subscribe to this view of the environmental movement, or in any way endorse the small-minded and parsimonious ramblings of Ron Arnold or any of his ilk on either end of the spectrum. Finally, I am not a director of the Our Land Society.

However, the authors aren’t entirely to blame for their mistake. The so-called Parliamentary Library report from Canada they used as a reference is in fact a spurious document, sponsored by a Canadian MP famous for playing political hard ball, that is both divisive and utterly partisan. Following publication of his report last spring Bob Skelly, the socialist MP in question, received a thorough drubbing in the press. The report is little more than a selective perusal of newspaper and magazine clippings and purposefully edited portions of conference transcripts. It was a cut-and-paste job that produced absolutely nothing of value.

But there is an irony in all of this. Whether reading the ramblings of Ron Arnold, the contents of the Parliamentary Library report or the righteous denouncements made by Udall and Olson, one is struck by the similarity of style and by the knowledge that here are men drawn unwillingly together--keeping in mind that opposites attract.

PATRICK ARMSTRONG

President Moresby Consulting Ltd.

Nanaimo, British Columbia