Letters to the Editor, Nov. 16

All our children deserve our attention
To the editor:

Several recent incidents have served to remind us in Princeton that we are not immune to the ugliness and violence that afflict so many American cities and towns as they struggle to overcome the long history of racial and economic tension that divides our communities. A racial beating; threats from a Trenton gang to attack students at Princeton High School (headed off by an alert police department and a level-headed school administration); and even the murder of a young Princeton resident quite a spate of events, and surely not what we expect in Princeton. But they’re here and they’re not going away soon.
   So what do we do?
   As a member of the clergy, a former school board member, a former Princeton University chaplain and a Princeton parent for nearly 20 years, I’ve wondered, often aloud, why this town’s parents don’t collaborate to create a safe environment for our children. When I was growing up in Baltimore a city then about 30 times the size of Princeton today I stayed largely out of trouble, not because I was so good, but because I knew that no matter where I went or what I did, it was sure to get back to my parents. Parents then depended on one another, sharing often unspoken expectations and norms. In a very real sense, all of them raised all of us.
   Conversely, parents in highly competitive Princeton tend to focus on their own children. But that leaves even those children without the broader safety net that a real community ought to provide. What’s missing is a coalition of parents committed to all of our children concerned not only about their own children’s welfare but also about the kids across the street and even across town people willing to care about kids across the racial and economic spectrum. That’s what makes a town a community.
   We parents must work together to share our expectations for our kids on issues like drugs and alcohol, dating, parties, curfews, hanging out, gangs, racial and sexual violence. We certainly won’t all agree on everything. But our kids have a natural conspiracy they’re together every day. Unlike them, we try to go it alone. And the result is that, on the one hand, we’re not giving our kids the attention they deserve and, on the other, we’re failing to hold them accountable for their behavior.
   The truth is, you and I can’t raise our children alone; we need one another. It really does take a village, as Hillary Clinton has famously written, to raise a child. So I’d like to invite every parent in Princeton who is willing to be a parent to all of our children to join me at a meeting at John Witherspoon Middle School on Thursday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. The purpose is to start a partnership of Princeton parents that can help us all to do that incredibly important job together that nobody told us how to do raise our children.
   Hope to see you there.
The Rev. Frank C. Strasburger
Lafayette Road
Princeton
Rescue efforts are greatly appreciated
To the editor:

We are writing to express our gratitude to the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad and the fire department and police departments of both Princeton Borough and Princeton Township for all their efforts to rescue Nathan Levine on Nov. 4 at Snowden Lane.
   Although he did not survive, we very much appreciate the crew’s outstanding ingenuity and hard work on his behalf in the pouring rain. We take some measure of comfort in knowing our beloved husband/father/grandfather was in such capable, compassionate hands in his time of need.
Vicki Levine
Karen Bartels
Jonathan Bartels
Shana Bartels
Leah Bartels
Princeton
New center will be open to all
To the editor:

Thanks for your story describing the effort to build a new Jewish Community Campus on Clarksville Road in West Windsor (The Packet, Nov. 12).
   Your readers should note that the campus will, in fact, serve all people in the community, and like today’s Jewish Community Center of the Delaware Valley in Ewing, is not a religion-specific facility.
   Nationwide, some 20 percent to 30 percent of JCC members are not Jewish. Most often, members choose to join JCCs because of the outstanding educational and cultural programs and facilities they offer. We expect to offer an equally high standard of excellence at the new Jewish Community Campus of Princeton-Mercer-Bucks.
Paul Schindel
Community Development Council
Communications Co-Chair
Chopin Lane
Lawrence
Church and state must remain separate
To the editor:

In January 2001, George W. Bush took the oath of office as President of the United States. He swore to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.
   After assuming office, he violated his oath by initiating his "faith-based initiatives," which is clearly counter to the First Amendment. Separation of church and state is one of the most sacred of our freedoms. But George W. Bush chose to use public tax money to support and fund religious organizations with this directive.
   This is unconstitutional and an impeachable offense.
   For the longest time, Republican philosophy prided itself on strict constructionism an adherence to upholding the Constitution to the letter of the law. Why, then, is there no uproar from them over this violation?
   We allegedly have freedom of religion in the Untied States and our founding fathers in all their wisdom had the right idea and foresight, including this amendment in our Constitution.
   We all have the right to practice our individual religions in our houses of worship and in our homes. Let’s keep it there.
   Currently, there is an inexorable march by certain elements in our culture to impose their will and beliefs on our fragile democracy. If we don’t come to our senses, we will lose both our democracy and freedom of religion. Do we have no respect for each other’s beliefs?
Apartaco Liberi
Jay Court
Plainsboro
McGreevey appointee merits commendation
To the editor:

Gov. McGreevey, we accept your resignation and your regrets with sadness. Although your critics are quick to point out problems and bad decisions you have made, please be assured that there is at least one decision for which you deserve special commendation.
   Since 1987, I have served under six previous commissioners at the Department of Human Services, and I am grateful for your appointment of James M. Davy as our current commissioner. No previous commissioner has ever reached out to the entire staff or taken such a personal interest in his staff as your former adviser, Jim Davy. He made a commitment to get to know the intimate working of this gigantic department and its extensive network of services and facilities. In addition, he mastered the complicated issues of child protective services and planned for the reorganization of the Division of Youth and Family Services in a way that will ensure the safety of the state’s children.
   Your legacy of this quality appointment was validated recently when your successor authorized Commissioner Davy’s continued leadership at DHS. Therefore, as you leave, I want you to know that some of us are grateful for this significant decision and we extend to you not only our gratitude for it, but also our best wishes as you move into your future endeavors.
Donald H. Moeser
Clearview Avenue
Princeton
Election ‘mandate’ requires perspective
To the editor:

Another close presidential election has just concluded. The Bush/Cheney team are gloating that they now have a mandate for their conservative agenda.
   When Lyndon Johnson won 61 percent of the vote in 1964, that was a mandate. When Richard Nixon won 49 states in 1972, that was a mandate. When Ronald Reagan also won 49 states in 1984, that was a mandate.
   Compared to these landslides, President George W. Bush’s 51 percent popular vote and modest electoral margin hardly constitutes a mandate. But President Bush has never let facts get in his way. After all, the closeness of the 2000 election did not deter him from pursuing a radical right-wing agenda in his first term.
   The aforementioned presidents did not use their mandates wisely, giving us Vietnam, Watergate and Iran-Contra, respectively. I shudder to think what President Bush will do with his ersatz mandate.
Eddie Konczal
First Avenue
Monroe