La Conchita Mudslide

Re “Blame Contested in Ventura County Mudslide,” March 6:

Among the first reactions to the disastrous landslide in La Conchita were frustration and blame for the government. Why did the government not do anything about it beforehand? Victims of the Anaheim Hills earthslides voiced their anger by initiating court action against the government in claims that the authorities were at fault for letting the developer build homes in geologically risky areas. In Laguna Beach a group of property owners have successfully sued the government to let them build homes in a highly unstable hillside in the Diamond Crestview area. Guess who the target of a future lawsuit is going to be if the mountain fails? The government. Of course.

It is a sad testimony for individual responsibility. Nothing in life is guaranteed; life itself is a risk. We blame others, especially the government, when our investments run sour. On one hand we don’t want government to tell us what to do. On the other we either run to it for help or sue it when our misfortunes hurt our pocketbooks. We can’t have it both ways.

PETER WEISBROD

Laguna Beach