Netlets for Wednesday, Dec. 10

Remember when everyone valued respect for elders? It is heartbreaking to read about the abuse of the elderly, allegedly at the hands of some high school students.

This is a symptom of a larger problem that we have on our hands in our society. Respect for elders was one of the core teachings that parents used to impart to their children. These society-defining values are fast getting eroded due to decreasing involvement of parents in the upbringing of their children. Schools are mostly confused about the universal value system and end up being ineffective.

As a nation, we have some serious soul searching to do. When our elders are violated, teased, abused and denigrated, what kind of a future are we looking at? How can our future generations uphold the principles that our country was founded upon? As a first step, parents must take ownership of the character education of their children. The future of our country depends on this.

ZAFAR SIDDIQUI, BLAINE

Still waiting for U.S. to sign treaty banning cluster bombs By Dec. 30, 2008, in Oslo, almost 100 nations will have signed a treaty banning cluster munitions -- weapons that have a clear record of killing and injuring civilians, often long after the war has ended. I am disturbed that the U.S. government boycotted the negotiations and will not sign the treaty, even though most of our nation's closest allies have recognized that the human costs of the weapons far outweigh their military utility.

As a grandmother of Iraq vets, I believe that we should be a leader, not a follower, in setting humanitarian standards for protection of innocent civilians in wartime. I hope that upon taking office, Barack Obama's administration will reconsider the U.S. position on this issue and sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions. I urge all concerned citizens to write their congressmen and insist that they pursue this action when they reconvene.

JOYCE RHODY, ALBERT LEA, MINN.

Beyond the fact that he earlier admits he decided to fly the flag only if Barack Obama were elected -- an obvious declaration of victory -- one would hope his desire for a more perfect union pre-dates the Nov. 4 election. He goes on to state that the flag had come to symbolize "pre-emptive power, gas-guzzling consumption and Texas League hubris," but now stands for hope and change.

I would suggest that our flag is much bigger than that. It is not defined or limited by who is in the White House, but by the great principles this country was founded upon: Liberty, Justice for all, e pluribus unum -- and to remember those who gave their lives for those principles.

If Quimby is truly interested in a more perfect union, he might start by flying the flag -- for the right reasons.

SHAWN PAGE, MINNEAPOLIS

Abortion is as divisive as ever I don't agree with the Star Tribune that South Dakota voters voted on abortion's morally ambiguity or the legal middle (editorial, Nov. 30). In fact, the vote shows the deep divide between morality and legality.

The conflict has raged for 35 years because there is no simple way to resolve the tragedy of abortion with the constitutional right of the woman. The South Dakota vote shows that whether a fetus is entitled to the protection of the law is as divisive as slavery was 150 years ago when the Supreme Court declared that the black man has no rights which the white man is bound to obey.

DAVID LUDESCHER, NORTHFIELD, MINN.

Minnesota's race to the bottom According to a Dec. 4 front-page article, Minnesota has slipped from being the second healthiest state in 2007 to No. 4 , as child poverty increased and public health spending decreased. South Carolina and Texas rank in the bottom five.

While facing budget deficits of historic proportion, the governors of all three states, including Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty, earlier "resisted the idea of federal aid to the states for the sake of economic stimulus." Pawlenty added that Minnesota should decline additional Medicaid money "if acceptance of it would prevent eligibility cuts in the program."

Rather than accept funds as part of a major stimulus plan described as necessary by the majority of economists of both political persuasions, Pawlenty engaged in more political posturing for the leadership of the conservative wing of the Republican Party.