Culture War

This could take place in a lot of places – it has now happened in our small village of Gilford, NH. 

Doug has addressed the case of Matt McGonagle here – now convicted, he plead guilty to abusing a 14 year old female student at his school when he was 30 years old – almost old enough to be her father. He has received, in my opinion, a relatively light sentence for someone who has abused his power of authority and standing as a teacher – but I will leave that in Doug’s hands to follow up on that aspect.

My problem?  What has drawn my ire is yet another circumstance when a bleeding heart liberal is upset ("troubled" is the word he used) with the way that the abuser was treated by the court system.  In one of the local papers (The Citizen) came this Letter to the Editor (8/5/06) from (Dr. William Zechhausen, a United Church of Christ Pastor and frequent writer in psychological and counseling journals.

On Friday, July 28, I attended the sentencing hearing of Matt McGonagle.

I found instances of insensitivity and even humiliation troubling. An official within the county legal system said what I perceived is what happens daily in court, and nothing can be done about it. A lawyer told me that what I observed is why he’s leaving the profession. He added, someone should write about this. I wish he were doing so. Though perhaps it takes someone outside the system, to speak up about what happened. I believe most insensitivity, mine and others, is through lack of awareness, and conversation about it can produce change in people of good will.

Taken in total, Dr. Zechhausen is setting the stage that we should be showing as much concern and compassion for Matt McGonagle as we should for the actual victim.  After all, Mr. Zeckhausen is troubled by the insensitivity and humiliation undergone by Mr. McGonagle – “troubling” is the word he used.

I, on the other hand, have a real hard time with this sentiment, and it is a lot harsher than "troubling". He continues on…

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From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

The dwindling of the American middle class has been much documented over the past three decades. Now comes a sobering reminder from the Brookings Institution that middle-class neighborhoods are disappearing even faster than middle-class people. Or, to put it another way, Americans are increasingly sorting themselves geographically into income-based enclaves where the haves and have-nots seldom mingle.

From 1970 to 2000, the proportion of middle-income neighborhoods in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas declined from 58 percent to 41 percent, according to a new Brookings report. That was a faster drop than the metrowide share of middle-income families. Their proportion fell from 28 percent in 1970 to 22 percent in 2000. Given more recent trends in household incomes, it’s likely that the rich-poor gap has continued to widen.

I know that the middle class has been written about a lot.  However, I’ve never seen any stats that the middle class overall is actually shrinking.  That said, I’m not sure why this author is so confused?

Let’s see if I get this right – I have some money but my neighborhood is going down the toilet as crime goes up, the schools are poor, there’s no where to park, my kids have no place to play, I’d like to have my own single family home with grass and a couple of trees, and I want to get away from the noise and the smells.  And the bite of city taxes are rising faster than my income.  But this guy is upset that I want out and don’t want to stick around?  Umm, no.

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