We are pleased to present viewpoint columns by Louis P.   Solomon.

Most of Louis Solomon's career was spent in the military-industrial community working on anti-submarine systems.    He has also taught at the university level and founded the firm, Planning Systems.    His current interests include co-authoring books of fiction and non-fiction.   Solomon holds an MS degree in Aero/Astro from MIT and a BA and PhD in Engineering from UCLA.

Solomon is an avid amateur small boat sailor and cruises his sailboat, Dream Maker, on the Chesapeake Bay and up and down the East Coast.    He lives in the Kentlands with his wife, Leslie Marks.

Selected past columns [underlined] by Louis Solomon are available here in Adobe files.    Click on the links below to access the Adobe files.    If you do not have Adobe on your computer, you can download a free copy here:

1. The Birth of a Column   June 2005
2. Concepts of Responsibility and Courtesy   July 2005
3. Living with Gusto   August 2005
4. The Rise and Fall of Organizations   September 2005
5. The Real Issue in Dealing with Katrina   October 2005
6. Some Comments on the Supreme Court   November 2005
7. Confusion: Mine   December 2005
8. Working as Catharsis   January 2006
9. Government Eavesdropping   February 2006
10. Government Eavesdropping  How They Do It   March 2006
11. The Coming Catastrophe  Our Helplessness and Our Response   April 2006
12. The National Anthem   May 2006
13. Alternative Power Sources  with Dick Van Orden  June 2006
14. The Energy Problem  with Dick Van Orden  July 2006
15. Nuclear Power (Fission)  with Dick Van Orden  August 2006
16. Hydrogen and its Uses  with Dick Van Orden  September 2006
17. Fuel Cells with Dick Van Orden  October 2006
18. The Ultimate Automobile  with Dick Van Orden  November 2006
19. Nuclear Power (Fusion)  with Dick Van Orden  December 2006 in Viewpoints
20. Global Warming: True or False?  with Dick Van Orden  January 2007 in Viewpoints
21. A Potential Partial Solution to our Oil ...  with Dick Van Orden  February 2007 in Viewpoints
22. Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD)  with Dick Van Orden  March 2007 in Viewpoints
23. To the Hilt  April 2007 in Viewpoints
24. A Bittersweet Trip  May 2007 in Viewpoints
25. Musings on Old Age  June 2007 in Viewpoints
26. The Language Corps and the National Security Education Program  July 2007 in Viewpoints
27. The Language Corps—Reprise  August 2007 in Viewpoints
28. The Michael Vick Incident  September 2007 in Viewpoints
29. Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow  October 2007 in Viewpoints
30. I Don't Get It  November 2007 in Viewpoints
31. What Shall we Do?  February 2008 in Viewpoints
32. Some Ideas on What To Do   March 2008 in Viewpoints
33. Random Thoughts  April 2008 in Viewpoints
34. What Is Going On?  May 2008 in Viewpoints
35. Our Veterans  June 2008 in Viewpoints
36. Liberals and Conservatives: Who is Who?  July 2008 in Viewpoints
37. Fear for the United States of America  August 2008 in Viewpoints
38. Priorities and Decision Making: Energy in the U.S.  September 2008 in Viewpoints
39. Some Comments on a National Energy Policy  October 2008 in Viewpoints
40. More thoughts on Energy Issues  November 2008 in Viewpoints
41. Some Observations about Politics  December 2008 in Viewpoints
42. My Naïve Elation  January 2009 in Viewpoints
43. Live the Dream: Write Your Book!  February 2009 in Viewpoints
44. The Future of Humanity  March 2009 in Viewpoints
45. Greed and Its Solution  April 2009 in Viewpoints
46. Finally, the Light Dawns  May 2009 in Viewpoints
47. A Glimmer of Hope  June 2009 in Viewpoints
48. May You Live in Interesting Times  July 2009 in Viewpoints
49. Time for Speaking Up  August 2009 in Viewpoints
50. Technology for Seniors  September 2009 in Viewpoints
51. In Praise of Expertise  October 2009 in Viewpoints
52. Comprehensive Health Care Reform  November 2009 in Viewpoints
53. The War in Afghanistan  December 2009 in Viewpoints
54. Rational Behavior  January 2010 in Viewpoints
55. Anger with Criticism  February 2010 in Viewpoints
56. Transmission of Personality Traits  March 2010 in Viewpoints
57. Disgust and Sorrow  April 2010 in Viewpoints

...continued from the Viewpoints page:

inclination is to let people to decide their own fates. If the citizens of Denmark wish to change their government through peaceful means then I support them. I even support them if I think that they are making a mistake. I will shrug my shoulders, wish them luck, and go on with my life while watching their experiment from a distance. After all, if you think back for several centuries, a concept of Social Democracy and participatory democracy, with parliaments etc., is not the way governments began. In fact the entire process of changing from rampant violence and arbitrary decisions began in the 14^th century with the advent of the Black Death with its human and financial consequences. So the idea of changing government methodology is upsetting, but not impossible, and not unknown.

But the problem that Denmark is facing is a little unusual. They invited people from depressed and distressed countries to immigrate to Denmark. Muslims from generally Arab countries came and accepted the Danish largesse. The numbers indicate that Muslim immigrants constitute 5 percent of the population but consume upwards of 40 percent of the welfare spending. That is unsettling, but not impossible to deal with. There is considerable agitation from the Muslim population through their leaders that Muslim values be instituted as state policy. Apparently a growing number of Danes feel that Muslim immigrants show little respect for Danish values and laws. I refer you to the article for details. There has been aggravated assault and discrimination of the Danish Jewish population. Denmark, a virtually uniform Christian country, proudly performed an amazing heroic act prior to the Nazi invasion. They smuggled out nearly all of their 7,000 Jews by night to Sweden—before the Nazis could invade. The growth of the Muslim population has resulted in a very substantial change in the Danish government's policy allowing immigrants.

Again, I refer you to the article for details.

The point where I have come to is a change in my willingness of allow immigrants to arrive without qualification. I don't like the concept of setting conditions on any group of people who wish to immigrate to the United States, legally. (This is not the time for discussion of the Immigration of illegals to the United States. Perhaps another day).

Historically in the 19^th Century we accepted immigrants from all over the world. We were considered a melting pot, and it worked. We didn't treat all of the new arrivals fairly (remember the issues with Chinese in California) but they all had a chance to make new lives. All of the immigrants had two desires for their children: a chance to become Americans and integrate into the American way of life including learning English, and, keep the history of the culture from where they came, including holidays, celebrations, and the rest. But the fundamental basic, core concept was to melt into the American way of life. It worked.

I now come to the crux of the matter. I welcome immigrants to our country. Good and bad things will happen. We will deal with all of them. But the issue that I consider paramount is that all immigrants will come to fuse with the existing structure and culture and accept the way we live. If they do not wish to accept our way of life then my answer is straight forward and direct: don't come. Stay where you are and remake your world, where you are.

Monthly © 2010 Maryland 20878®