What has happened to our world?


In 1988, Joanna and I were fortunate to have spent a week in Rio. We thought it was the most beautiful city we had ever seen.

Never ones for guided tourist events, we just converted some cash and took off on our own. We rode public transportation, we rode taxis, we walked. A must see attraction was Rio's spectacular, modern cathedral.


We marveled at the sidewalks in Rio... hand-laid pieces of stone in varied colors, forming beautifully symmetrical patterns.

We shopped the open air leather market and the art market. Like every tourist, we loved the open air fruit and flower market, and the friendly people buying and selling.





We watched a street performer putting on a show with a pet lizard. We were impressed with the easy assimilation of people of all races, with no evidence of racism.






Yes, there are poor in Rio, living in the slums they call flavelas. But remember, these are not cardboard shacks or tents. They are permanent homes, mostly built of concrete blocks... not in keeping with modern building codes, but permanent, nonetheless. And remember, it never freezes in Rio, so this is hardly like living under a bridge in Chicago.

Everywhere we went was peace and tranquility.

Food in Rio restaurants was just wonderful. Someone ordered a seafood platter and we were all amazed at both the quantity and the quality.

And, there were those beautiful people! Think the girl from Ipanema, endlessly cloned.

Yep! We loved Rio. At no time, and in no place did we ever feel unsafe or threatened. The only mention of crime was that women were advised not to wear dangling gold jewelry which a thief could grab and run. But we saw no evidence of such activity.

Against that experience, you can imagine my surprise this morning to turn on the TV and see video of a gunfight on those once beautiful streets... and a narration about the terrible crime rate in the city.


Closer to home, I also heard today that there have been 1,700 murders this year in Mexico. Ciudad Juarez, a city only forty miles from my home is one of the deadliest places. We used to visit Juarez about once a month and always felt safe and warmly welcomed.


So, what has happened? Is it all because of illegal drugs? Or is there more?


Okay, here comes my opinion: Yes, drugs are the core of much of today's violence. But that springs from a deeper problem. We used to adhere to the old adage discerning the difference between giving a man a fish, and teaching him to fish.


Once we clung to the latter. Then the misguided liberals became more powerful. They insisted we give the man a fish. Being basically a compassionate species, the fishermen acquiesced. But before long, it wasn't enough to give the man a fish. He now wanted it broiled and served with side dishes. And he no longer asked, he demanded. Gradually he expected more: like a share of the fisherman's profits if any fish were sold.


Generations raised on the take, saw drugs as a way to enlarge their riches and still do no legitimate work. Is it a surprise, then, that men of this generation - in Mexico and elsewhere - are now killing each other for rights to certain areas of these easy riches?


Can this cancer on mankind ever be cured? Only with a great deal of pain for those who have never truly known a day's work. In Europe, where the fruits of misguided liberalism are fully experienced, things are beginning to make a slow right turn. In America, where the liberals have only recently assumed full power, it is going to take a while longer.