Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 9

r. Opinion Wednesday, May 31, 2000 A-9 AS WE SEE IT OOO Voter apathy isn't universal problem 1 High-tech hope, hype, reality dent Jean-Bertrand Aristide's party will win control of Haiti's Senate. The election was held to reinstall a constitutional form of government there. Haiti first threw off foreign rule early in the 1800s when rebels tossed out the government of Napoleon, and since then has been governed almost continuously by a series of despotic rulers. The nation is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, mostly because of incompetent and corrupt rulers who have provided well for themselves, but not for their people.

One of the underappreciated success stories of U.S. foreign policy in recent years is the continued work for democracy in Haiti. That has involved support for Aristide, a leader whose judgment is sometimes lacking but whose best wishes for his country must be taken into account. Certainly this election was far from perfect. Aristide's party has been accused of arresting the opposition, and the United States has questioned the government's use of intimidation.

But more than 2 million Haitians went to the polls, a 60-percent turnout. That's a far greater turnout than you often see in U.S. elections. Haiti has a long way to go. We don't expect elections anytime soon that are fully free of intimidation, accusations and complaints.

BUT THERE'S success just in those lines of voters waiting to mark their ballot. Voting has not been a part of Haiti's last 200 years, and at least there's some progress. For those of us living in a country with a long-standing tradition of free elections, it's easy to take the process for granted. But when election time rolls around in November, we'll remember those long lines of Haitians waiting for hours just to cast their vote. HAITI: Those long lines in Haiti consisted of people who don't take voting for granted.

IN PREVIOUS even-number years like this one, political campaigns in California would be in high gear in the wake of Memo-! rial Day, with the June primary just a week away. But there's no June primary, be- cause California quite reasonably wanted to be a player in this year's presidential election. So officials -moved the primary to March, so that its balloting would help in the selec-' tion of candidates. So this June, election season is far from our mind, as summer approaches and the good weather is here. Our concern is that even if there were an election, no one would really be excited.

It seems like voter ap-- athy just gets more pervasive, as far fewer than half the eligible voters even bother going to the polls. That apathy is hard to take, partic-Vularly here in the aftermath of Memorial Day. How many of America's best fought and died for our right to vote in free elections? How many civil rights leaders put "their lives on the line back when some states did everything in their power to prevent black people from voting? Voter apathy seems even more distressing if you look at the photographs out of Haiti during that is-j land nation's recent elections. Long lines of people stood and waited for hours just for the privilege of voting. They stood in line despite threats of violence, and despite as many as 15 politically related killings in the two -months leading up to last week's 5 vote.

'-It looks as though former Presi THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN I believe in the possibilities of the new technologies as much as anyone. But it seems that while we started by surfing the Web, the Web is now surfing us. Technology is making life more complicated, not less, and we haven't found the balance yet. and take it home with you without worrying about your credit card number being stolen, or how UPS will deliver it, or how you will ship it back if it doesn't fit.

Imagine such a world! It's also just around the corner right now. It's called a mall." I believe in the possibilities of the new technologies as much as anyone. But it seems that while we started by surfing the Web, the Web is now surfing us. Technology is making life more complicated, not less, and we haven't found the balance yet. American Express has been running a TV ad showing a teen-age girl at the kitchen table with her dad.

The girl is working on her laptop and the father is paying bills by hand. The girl says to her dad: "You're so analog!" So the father asks: "Analog? Is that good?" The daughter says: "Quaint." The father asks: "Is quaint good?" The daughter says: "Sometimes." More than sometimes. Walking through the casino in Las Vegas I was struck by all the shouting around the craps tables strangers high-fiving each other in victory and consoling each other in defeat. You can't do that gambling online alone in your basement. Las Vegas is thriving today precisely because it is such a tactile place, so full of people rubbing against people at shows, in casinos, in fantasy hotels and in giant swimming pools.

Las Vegas is the future because it's the past. Day 11: 1 call my wife. She teaches fifth grade in a public school. She sounds tired. I ask what's new.

She says she had to call some parents to come into school for special parent-teacher conferences before the school year ends. I think: Who is going to do that when education moves online? I recall another ad I saw along the way for a global phone company. It said: "I phone, I fax, I surf at the same time because I can." But who wants to? Thomas L. Friedman The New York Times I JUST COMPLETED a book-related tour around the United States which left me feeling that a backlash may be brewing against all the technology hype now dominating our lives. If 1998 was the year of Internet hope, and 1999 the year of Internet hype, maybe 2000 will be the year oflnternet reality.

Here's my diary. Day 1: New York's 92nd Street Y. A young professional woman introduces herself something like this: "Hi. my name is and I work for a dotcom that's running out of money and about to go out of business." Day 2: Dinner at the Motorola Museum in Chicago. The conversation shifts to how sterile life can become when everything gets done on networks.

A Motorola exec tells this story: She called her bank the other day to do some banking by phone. You know, press a few buttons and move your money around. But this time when she called her bank she got a real shock: a person answered. Yup, she said, a real live person. The bank's automated teller system was broken so they had to resort to the human variety those that that run on chocolate chips, not microchips.

The woman described how much she savored the human interaction, and we all nodded knowingly. Day 5: Minneapolis. I am visiting hometown friends, Ken and Jill Greer, who own an ad agency that advertises its services on a Web site, Thinkgreer.com. Under photographic services, the Greers offered potential clients two choices of photography: "Digital" or "Silver Halide." "People would call us," Ken recalled, "and say, 'I'm familiar with digital photography, but what is this new silver halide? What sort of technology is You know, on the Internet everyone wants to be the first to discover something new, and they assumed that silver halide was this hot new technology." Silver halide is just a fancy term for plain old film. But the name is so high-techy sounding that some people assumed jjWe're looking for letters, cartoons it was the new, new thing, and they had to have it.

Day 10: Las Vegas, the shopping center convention. My relatives are in the mall business, where everyone is worried about all the stories of the high-tech age, just around the corner, when you will be able to do all your shopping online from your Palm Pilot, and your refrigerator will automatically order more milk via the Web when its high-tech sensors indicate you're low. I jokingly suggested to the shopping center folks that they run an ad that would say: "Imagine a world in which you will be able to go to just one place, walk from shop to shop, and see, touch, feel or try on anything you like, and then buy it right there want to thank someone, or you have something nice to say, send it in to our "Praiseworthy" section, which is published every Monday. For your cartoons: Please confine your ideas to local issues. Your work must be of near-professional quality.

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Please, only one letter per month. If you AS YOU SEE IT terviewing people and taking pictures. There were a lot of powerful messages on that podium, Sunday. It moved most of the crowd to tears. It would have been a very powerful story for your paper.

Santa Cruz County mothers of gun victims over a 30-year period shared powerful stories about the immense pain they've suffered through the death of their children, brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers. Our hearts broke with their stories. Such brave mothers to stand up on that podium and expose their immense grief to a crowd of strangers. There were men who also stood on that podium and they represented several local organizations. The Watsonville mayor and Sam Farr spoke as well.

The march included lots of mothers, many fathers and children of all ages. Protest songs were sung, protest chants were echoed through the streets. Even the little children riding in strollers where chanting along with "What do we want?" "Gun control." "When do we want it?" "Now!" and "A million mothers can't be wrong." I hate to think that the Sentinel has May 19 Swallowed alive Get it while you can." lams Joplin I watched a hundred swallows cavort for insects over Terrace Point meadow this morning between 9 and 10 a.m. I heard on the radio this year or last that the swallows did not come back to Capistrano. Tad Jones Davenport -May 17 It's too bad you missed it I was really disappointed that there wasn't a detailed report about the Watsonville moms' march against gun violence.

You had four sentences about the Sunday march. The bulk of the story was on the Washington, D.C., march, which every paper in the U.S. and abroad covered. It was obvious the Sentinel's editor and reporters were not paying attention to local community activities. Even a Scotland, reporter was there, in Letter Carriers Union, the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Postal Service and your letter carrier, thank you for your caring and generosity.

Armando Rubalcaba Executive vice president Branch 269 NALC Capitola May 15 Dog obits belong in paper I take offense to Ms. Jay Ahlfs letter of May 12. I've worked in the animal field for half my life. I've witnessed the grieving families who have come to euthanize their beloved pets. The love and loss in the families' faces are heart-breaking.

Tell me then why it diminishes a human's obituary to be put on the same page as another being who was greatly loved? Animals play a large part in our lives today. They are part of the family. They love us unconditionally, they are loyal and very sensitive to our moods. It is scientifically proven that they increase the quality of life in seniors, people who live alone and people with grave illnesses. Let's not forget the pets who are in service and help the blind, the hearing impaired, and those with seizures.

What about search and rescue dogs who assist in finding lost and trapped people? Try telling a police officer his K-9 partner shot in the line of duty protecting the people doesn't deserve the recognition of his sacrifice. Why begrudge a family of mourning the passing of petfamily member the way they see fit? We recently lost our beloved friend and dog, Miss Artichoke, and we miss her greatly. She was a major part of our loves for more than 14 years, including being the ring bearer in our wedding, I only hope that one day Ms. Ahlf has the good fortune of experiencing the unconditional love a pet can give. Pamela Lamar Felton whenever they mention human-rights abuses in other countries.

Emily Maloney Santa Cruz May 17 Dog-crazy is OK In response to Ms. Ahlfs letter about dog obituaries, I find it very sad that she doesn't seem to understand the bond people can have with their companion animals. As my husband says, "If something is loved, it has value." Finding unconditional love, be it animal or human, should be celebrated in whatever way one chooses. The expression of love for a special animal in no way takes away from the loss of a friend or family member. As for the comment about Santa Cruz being "dog crazy," a community that values its animals is a community with more understanding and compassion.

I'm proud that Santa Cruz is a community where its companion animals are valued and have a place. Hurrah for Santa Cruz. Joan DeNeffe Santa Cruz May 16 Letter carriers say thanks Saturday, May 13, 1,523 branches of the National Association of Letter Carriers Union held a nationwide food drive. As of 1999, 328.1 million pounds of food have been collected and delivered to local food banks and pantries. The local branch 269 of the NALC and other branches of the Monterey Bay area worked with the Second Harvest Food Banks of Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties and local volunteers.

Thanks to all the donations that were made by you, our customers, we expect to exceed last year's total of 58 million pounds nationwide in the year 2000. On behalf of the National Association of some motive for this. I really don't want to come to the conclusion that Watsonville is a city that the Sentinel doesn't care about? Whatever the reason, it's too bad you weren't there. Wendy Lees Aptos May 16 Stop rights abuses Whenever I hear mention by any of our government representatives of human-rights abuses in other countries I want to shout, "What about the human-rights abuses in our country?" Two million people incarcerated in our jails; a three-strike law that sentences people to life for stealing a bicycle; a death penalty long since abandoned by other Western industrialized countries; a drug war that has cost trillions of dollars, filled our prisons with nonviolent citizens without any showing of a reduction in drug use, and has destabilized foreign countries where farmers and peasants suffer at the hands of corrupt, U.S.-funded police and military forces (currently most noteworthy, Colombia); and the lack of universal health care which is provided in all other Western industrialized countries. Not to be overlooked is the manner in which these abuses, particularly in the criminal justice system, most dramatically affect the poor and people of color: 50 percent of people incarcerated are black, while blacks make up only 12 to 13 percent of our population; blacks make up only 15 percent of America's drug users, yet they make up 53 percent of state court convictions, with 66,000 arrested as opposed to 15,000 whites.

This is only a partial list of our human-rights abuses. The current report of Amnesty International on our human-rights abuses will tell a more complete story. Let's face up to this deplorable situation and call our representatives to task Santa Cruz oentinel SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060 207 CHURCH ST. (831) 423-4242 David B. Regan, President and Publisher Richard Lewii Press Room Manager Mike Blaetier Systems Manager Mardl Browning Douglass Circulation Manager Len La Bartti Copy Desk Chief Stephanie Loeich Advertising Director Arlene Hudson Advertising Manager Tom Honlg Editor Donald Miller Managing Editor Royal Calkin City Editor The editorials on this page represent the opinion of the newspaper's editorial board.

Members of the board are: David B. Regan, Tom Honlg, Donald Miller..