TRADING A LOT OF FREEDOM FOR A LITTLE SECURITY

Marie Goedert's letter ("Availability of drugs at school concerns
parents," March 1) started out very well. She stated that she was
concerned about the easy availability of drugs in her child's school.
But asking the principal of the school to order random locker searches
with drug-sniffing dogs is the wrong solution.

If she wants a good reason for not allowing dogs in the building, let's
set up this scenario for her: A co-worker of hers is caught smoking a
joint on his coffee break. In the best interest of the business, her
boss orders a search of the entire building, having officers and dogs
come to rifle through her desk and her personal belongings, and those of
her co-workers as well, to find any more contraband. Does that sound
like a reasonable solution to her?

In today's society we have traded a lot of freedom for a little
security, and people like Goedert are simply hastening the day when we
shall all be very safe, but have no freedom or privacy at all.

John C. Riecke, Aurora