DO WE WANT AN ORDERLY POLICE STATE

Robert Ramsey links the questioning of "zero tolerance" and "three strikes"
to the decline of Western civilization ["The decline of civilization," Talk
Show, March 11]. If anything, such policies will only hasten the decline of
Western civilization into a dehumanized, fascistic - albeit orderly - police
state.

The reason may thoughtful people (even a few conservatives) are questioning
"zero tolerance," "three strikes," long mandatory prison sentences, etc.,
has nothing to do with "bleeding heart liberalism." It has to do with the
fact that these policies are rife with injustice and threaten to become
long-term budgetary albatrosses. They are prime examples of the simplistic,
lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key mentality that many conservatives bring
to societal problem-solving.

George "Max" Jacinto-Westminster