Rap Music

* Re “Still Peddling Filth for Profit,” Jan. 19.

The last time I checked, the profit motive was being touted as the cure-all for America’s woes. Bill Bennett has been in the forefront of that activity, so for him to be cited by Bill Chitwood as a moral crusader against the greed of the music industry by decrying MCA’s pursuit of the “bottom line” is beyond hypocritical. Why would any company dump a profitable enterprise?

I really don’t understand what Chitwood was trying to say in his editorial except that he believes there is a moral decline in America associated with rap music. That argument can be made in many ways, even without obvious racist overtones, yet as long as our society holds our profit as the greatest good and greed as the highest ideal, we will continue our moral slide. Rap music isn’t the cause, it’s a symptom of a system that puts profits ahead of all truly human endeavors.

It is the profit motive, and the associated greed it breeds, that is at the base of our educational decline, loss of civility in public discourse, debasement of the arts and the loss of culture. And Bill Bennett, as the former secretary of Education, should know that.

So stop whining, Chitwood, and campaign for governmental support for the arts so there can be true competition for the minds and souls in this struggle to define culture and civility.

ROBERT B. HARRIS

Lancaster