'Liberal' letter sparks response from liberal

When a nation's young men are conservative, its funeral bell is already rung.
- Henry Ward Beecher

BY LEE PEACOCK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

I read with great interest the Letter to the Editor in The Journal last week by Isaac W. Dunn of Rocky Hill, ["Enough of Jim Rowell," Page 7A].
Reading his letter, I couldn't help but chuckle when Dunn indicated that Monroe Journal Plus columnist Jim Rowell was a "liberal." I don't know if Dunn realizes it or not, but his Letter to the Editor contained some of the most "liberal" (as he uses the word) ideas that I've read in a long, long time.
First off, Dunn "begged" that The Journal find another columnist and end Rowell's "ranting and whining" in The Plus. To me, this amounts to nothing more than an attempt at crude, un-American censorship, a weird move to somehow prevent Rowell from exercising his First Amendment Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression. While Dunn may not agree with Rowell's opinions, he should respect Rowell's right to write whatever he pleases. This is America, not Nazi Germany.
Dunn also took issue with the way that the wet-dry vote was handled within the City of Monroeville. The vote to legalize alcohol sales within the Monroeville city limits was democratically decided by a majority vote under the laws of Alabama. Individuals who don't like it should face the fact that that's the way things are done in America.
Dunn also wanted to know why no county citizens were consulted during the wet-dry matter. The answer is simple: They don't live within the city limits. City officials are under no obligation to consult with citizens living outside the city limits. If a person wants to be directly involved in the affairs of the city, they should move to Monroeville.
The most "liberal," as Dunn uses the word, idea in his entire letter concerned his idea of having a representative of the county sit in on all city council meetings to serve as a liaison between the city government and the county government. Dunn recommends this because he says that what happens in the city affects the county.
If you follow Dunn's logic, then the Monroe County Commission would need to add five more members - a member to represent the interests of Conecuh, Escambia, Baldwin, Clarke and Wilcox counties. After all, what happens in Monroe County affects all of these surrounding counties, right?.
Dunn also suggests that Rowell and I team up to try to have illicit drugs legalized. I think it's interesting that Dunn is the only person to bring up the subject of legalizing illicit drugs. You would suspect that a man like Dunn, who lives in the south end of the county, with all of its drug problems, would not have such a flippant attitude about the drug problem. I suspect that he's never met a methamphetamine or crack cocaine addict or seen the ravages of those drugs on families. I suspect that if he had, he wouldn't joke about legalizing illicit drugs.
With that said, I guess I should point out that my big, thick dictionary defines the word "liberal" as "favoring reform or progress, as in religion, education, etc., specifically, favoring political reforms, tending toward democracy and personal freedom for the individual." I'm all for democracy, personal freedom and reform in government, so I guess that makes me a liberal too.
In the end, Jim, I guess you shouldn't feel too bad about being called a liberal. When you think about it, you're in good company. After all, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and Martin Luther King Jr. were all liberals.