Is it possible that commentators Anirban Basu and Elizabeth Martin were writing satire in their recent op-ed ("Baltimore will get better, but only if we make it so," June 14)?
None of their ideas offer anything new or constructive for bringing justice and equality to our beleaguered city. Lower taxes? A new arena? A smaller City Council? How daring!
Perhaps they were offering a parody of the suggestions by political and corporate leaders, such as a few more summer jobs and better crime data collection.
Most telling, though, is their ultimate suggestion: "Say no to aggressive panhandling."
The two notable historical references for the phrase "City on a Hill" are John Winthrop's speech of 1630, "A Model of Christian Charity," and of course "The Sermon on the Mount" by a famous First Century advocate for the poor.
In that sermon, Jesus proclaimed "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn thou not away."
Not only do Mr. Basu's and Ms. Martin's ideas fail to address the violence of poverty and racism, but their suggestions are hardly a model of any sort of charity.
By the way, their idea of tearing down vacant houses does nothing to help the 46,527 extremely low-income households for whom no affordable housing exists.
Jeff Singer, Baltimore