Morals

Morals
Sunday June 14, 2009

Hi Alice,

In response to a series of questions delivered by Robert Frost (aired on television on May 19th, 1977)
relating to the ethical implications of a U.S. president engaging in or at least approving of
“listening in” and recording of private conversations,
burglaries of private properties and intercepting and reading private mail.

Richard Nixon responded:
“Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal”.

These are things my parents did to me as a child, read my private mail, took property
from me that was mine and listened in on private conversations that I had with
others.

Having read your work to date I see more and more that childhood experiences
do not stay in the past but re-enact themselves through us again and again as adults
until we actually listen to the full story of what we had to endure, feel the feelings
as they arise and understand how we have been deceived and wronged, painful as
this is to do.

I can see these double standards everywhere.

It is one rule for those who hold power and another rule for those without power.
I can only imagine that Richard Nixon learned this lesson from his parents.
The lesson being that his parents could use any means at their disposal to
ensure that little Richard conformed to what they expected of him and that
he could not dare question their motives.
I know this is true of my own history anyway.

I am having to reconnect with my inner moral compass, the one I was born with,
not the broken one my parents forced on me as a child.

Looking forward to your next book,

Please feel free to publish this email on your webpage,

G.

AM: Yes, you are right, I hope that people will eventually become aware of the fact that what presidents and parents do can be extremely wrong, even if it is yet not declared as ILLEGAL because they have the power. We must urgently work for making crimes towards chirdren eventually illegal.