LETTER: Action not words

Mr Geoffrey Best
Friday 07 April 1995 18:02 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Action not words

From Mr Geoffrey Best

Sir: I wonder how many besides myself are getting a bit tired of being told by Michael Dummett that we are moral slackers? Or, to use the expression in his letter of 5 April about BBC2's recent Yugoslavia feature, "dead of soul"?

I invite Professor Dummett to consider the possibility that it does less good in the long run to allow oneself to be worked up into a moralistic lather by whatever horror some bit of the media happens to make the sensation of the hour, than calmly to reckon what international political arrangements and which international humanitarian organisations are most likely to cut at the roots of such horrors and to deal effectively with them - and then to put our support, effort and money where intelligence, not passion, directs.

Yours faithfully,

GEOFFREY BEST

St Antony's College

Oxford

7 April

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in