Dear Editor

The following is a letter to the editor of the Advocate-Messenger in Danville, Ky. It is written by my best friend and reprinted with permission. She raises some interesting questions.

Dear Editor,
So Danville prohibits smoking. I'm no smoker, but I do have some questions. What's next? Do we build a little sterile bubble around our town? What about air pollution from other sources? What about our water? Why are traces of prescription drugs found in some water sources after it's been treated? How toxic are the chemicals used to treat our water?

What about every plant, vegetable and fruit tree grown in our contaminated soil? What about pesticides and fertilizers? What about the hormones being fed to animals used as our meat sources? What about preservatives in our food? What about the bacterial and viral diseases we are exposed to constantly? What are the real effects of microwaves, cell phones, TVs and electrical lines? What about the cleaning chemicals we use in our homes? What about building supplies used in our homes?

And then the big question: What about our children and their children? What about too much violence, too much explicit sex, too many violent video games, too many inappropriate movies and TV shows? What about the "creepy" side of the Internet? Why haven't we thought about the consequences of too much?

Why are we so concerned with superficial things like having all the latest gadgets and trying to stay forever young? Why don't we try to leave something good and honorable behind us before we go to whatever is next? Why do children lose their innocence too early and grow up so fast?

Does a lot of it have to do with us? Why do our grandchildren have to be exposed to TV commercials like "Viva Viagra"? Why, when the whole world seems to be going completely bonkers, is it that there are people who are more concerned with erectile dysfunction?

Linda Burger
Danville