Reply
to Critique of OhioPIRG
To the Editors:
While I appreciate Sally Abrahamson’s critique
of smoking (as a recently converted non-smoker) I have to take issue
with her argument that people necessarily need to, “Live by
the morals you want us to pay you to implement.”
Ralph Nader once said that, “our society
has more problems than it should tolerate and more solutions than
it uses.” Part of the reason for this is arguments such as
Sally Abrahamson’s that exclude all but the most personally
virtuous from participation in democratic society. Should people
not vote if they do not have perfect information? Should we not
demand that our politicians meet standards of honesty and accountability
that we (at times) might fail to meet?
I think not. We should all seek to improve ourselves
as individuals and as organizations and people like Sally Abrahamson
should keep pressure on us to do so. But while we seek to improve
ourselves, we should not be fearful of engaging the broader society
as well and demanding a better world for all of us.
Neither individuals nor society as a whole will
ever be perfect, but we can be a lot closer then we are now. To
get there we need everyone to be engaged in the project of improving
our society, not just the vegans and non-smokers.
–Winston Vaughan
College senior
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