Letters to the Editor

Back in the day

Great reading about the Roxbury Memorial reunion (Bay State Banner, July 22, 2010). I was in the printing program, so unfortunately, I did not know any of the folks mentioned except for Boston’s political figures.

My experiences at Memorial could not have been matched at any other school. The friends I made were wonderful. All of us came from different parts of the city while being of different races and nationalities. But it never made a difference.

The talent shows were the greatest. There was so much talent in the building. I often sit back and think about the people who I met there and wonder where they are now.

Roxbury Memorial prepared me for a successful career in the printing industry and I later went on to be an administrator in the Boston Public Schools. Hopefully there will be students from the printing program attending the next reunion. I would love to hear from anyone who was in the printing program. I headed up the Moscateers while at Memorial.

Joe Moscaritolo
Roxbury Memorial ’57
Roslindale

A reason to vote

As most everybody on this planet knows, Nov. 2 is Election Day. What everyone doesn’t know is how important this off year election is to the future of this nation we call America.

Alhough there is a difference of opinion about the importance of this election, there is one major factor at play that might signal an end to our freedom to participate in an open electoral process: the influence of foreign money.

Thanks to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, the coffers of American and foreign corporations have been opened for unlimited and anonymous spending in our political elections. Not only would this momentous decision in the “Citizens United” case set a dangerous precedent,  in the economic war with communist China, but the access  to participate in our elections by the average citizen would be curtailed.

Historically, this is not what American values have been about; we believe in a level playing field. This ruling tilts the balance of one political party over another. The fact that Karl Rove and the Republican Party have been the beneficiaries of  this spigot of corporate largesse leaving them awash in cash has not been lost on President Barack Obama and the Democrats.

Everybody is entitled to have an opinion, but there is one set of facts.

And, few can disagree that the mix of politics and money is a deadly one indeed. For, it leads to corruption and favoritism. The outsourcing of our jobs is a case in point because the financial markets, Wall Street, the big corporations and the Chamber of Commerce benefit by keeping our wages low along with our quality of life.

In this economic climate, fraught with anxiety over our future, and the needs of our hard pressed urban communities, we don’t have the luxury of not voting. It’s a matter of life or death. For, we can’t afford to have voting become a matter of dollars and cents.

Marvin Clarke
Via e-mail