MANY THINGS COULD BE BANNED "FOR THE GREATER GOOD"

There has been quite a spirited debate recently, in the Reader's Write
column of the Messenger-Inquirer, concerning the idea of having casinos
here in Owensboro. Several people have written letters opposing the idea
for the good of the community. They say it would serve the greater good if
we banned casinos from Owensboro.

OK, but why stop there? If we're going to start banning things for the
greater good, why not ban alcohol from Owensboro, for the greater good, of
course. We know some people cannot handle alcohol responsibly, so let's
just ban it from everyone's enjoyment. That will take care of the problem.
And tobacco. I keep hearing how my cigarettes harm others, so maybe we need
to ban tobacco, too.

How about cars? The exhaust from cars is known to be a health risk;
certainly we all know some people cannot handle their vehicles responsibly.
Give them up, people. It's for "the greater good."

While we're at it, we need to make certain that our children are only
exposed to good literature. Let's ban anything and everything that mentions
sexual relations between people or people practicing witchcraft. That'll
get rid of all the pornography from Owensboro. That this also will also ban
Harlequin Romances, medical textbooks, psychology textbooks, even the
Bible, is beside the point. It's for the greater good.

We need to allow people to live their own lives. Let the communities decide
the casino issue for themselves.

Keenan Powell

Owensboro