From The Publisher July 2000 I recently received two troubling letters from readers in which the underlying message reiterated a growing problem within this profession and across this country. In the first letter, a reader wrote in claimed that one of the contributing sources for an article was a "convicted criminal", and was "one of the most dishonest and unprofessional persons" he had known. In the second letter an "Educator" (whose husband is a Landscape Architect) wrote that she was "disturbed" by one of my commentaries because my "tone was offensive and partisan." She further asked me "to keep (my) views to (my)self" because political decisions and public education have "nothing to do with Landscape Architecture." It is important to note that neither of these two supposedly educated individuals even attempted to negate the content of the articles, instead they simply decided to attack the messenger and then apply the 'ole "Ostrich Approach" and bury their heads in the sand. In the first instance, it turns out that the contributing source had testified in a lawsuit involving the letter writer . . . go figure . . . and obviously there was some bad blood involved. One thing I now know about this letter writer is that he doesn't care as much about how to avoid getting into a lawsuit, as he does about playing hopscotch and calling the other children names . . If he (or you) disagree with the content of the article, that is something LASN wants to hear about and will research and report on . . . we really don't care if poor Billy wets the bed . . . . In the second letter, the "Educator" didn't cite one contradiction to my comments, nor one shred of evidence supporting her claim. In fact, her only claim was that she didn't think that Politics or Education had anything to do with Landscape Architecture . . . . and this person is teaching our children!?! The point of this column (commentary, opinion page . . . take your pick) is that too often, when confronted with an opposing viewpoint, I've seen this profession, and indeed this country, develop a counterattack aimed not at the view or the content, but instead at the messenger. Landscape Architects need to join the debate by projecting their opinions based on the facts as they see them. If you don't like my political views you are not going to change them by pointing out my bald spot (hey . . . watch it . . . ) However, you may persuade me by presenting a clear set of facts or string of logic. In my opinion, it is good to report the facts of a lawsuit in which a Landscape Architect lost due to design flaws and thus alert other LA's to a potential future dilemma. In my opinion, the political, economic and educational health of this country is of the utmost importance to the profession of Landscape Architecture. I've watched more than my share of both candidates as they have presented their agenda through the C-SPAN channel. My argument is that Gore's position against Urban Sprawl, coupled with the Clinton/Gore record of Executive Order land grabbing (i.e. Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, the Mojave Desert, etc.) shows that Gore is against private ownership of land, against the development industry and against capitalistic growth. These elements of a Gore administration will adversely affect the growth of the Landscape Architectural profession by reducing the need for private sector Landscape Architects and forcing public sector LA's into a stagnant income group. Bush, on the other hand, appears to support private land ownership, private development and private sector growth. These features of his administration will increase the opportunity for Landscape Architects, especially in the private sector, to command higher wages and have a greater demand-driven impact on the general well-being of this society. Now . . . you are welcome to agree or disagree . . in fact, we at LASN would love to hear your views and look forward to printing as many fact or logic based viewpoints as possible. Our only care is the betterment of the profession and of the society (which, contrary to the beliefs of certain Educators, go hand-in-hand). Most importantly, in this Election Year, now is the time for Landscape Architects to join in the Debate, to stand up and to be heard! You are an educated group of professionals making a positive impact on the growth of this nation. Your well thought out, factually based, logical participation is an asset to The Great Debate! God Bless . . . . .