To the editor:

Congratulations and many thanks to Eva Edmands for writing and to the Journal-World for publishing her letter of March 10. The cause of Ms. Edmands’ well-stated irritation was Cathy Hamilton’s use of the word “freaking” in a recent column. I applaud her.

History is replete with the stories of great societies that died from rot within, e.g., the Roman Empire, (“give them bread and circuses”), the French Revolution, (“let them eat cake”), and many more. Since the days of FDR giveaways, which bought votes and re-elections and led to the economy-smothering welfare and entitlement spending, we’ve now arrived at the beginning of the end, i.e., 49.5 percent of the people no longer pay any income taxes! And approximately 30 percent of them qualify for something called the Earned Income Tax Credit which may give them back more money than they’ve paid in!

Because there are now more “takers” living off the government than there are “makers” who pay the taxes that support them, our country is in the process of committing suicide. And speeding that process has been and is our cultural degradation and predictable collapse. So, what’s the connection with Ms. Edmands?

Before I joined the Navy in 1944, the few times I had heard the “f” word was by, well, the unsophisticated in the pool hall.  In Navy boot camp and thereafter, the ubiquitous “f” word, and all the rest of its vulgar and obscene cousins, has spread like  termites in a foundation.

Ms. Edmands and I fear that culture is destiny.