Reader inquires: What is good?

To the editor:

A number of years ago I overheard a woman complimenting a college president as being 'good.” Her rationale for this compliment was that the president ate healthy foods and exercised. This incident struck me as rather strange. How is it that the criterion for 'good” related only to this individual's effort to preserve his own health?

I think that being good is more than adhering to the latest guidelines on health and fitness. Certainly, it is much more than simply bowing to the latest ever-shifting whims of political correctness and popular culture.

If we have an interest in what it means to be good, we need to examine the mores of the dominant cultures on earth. Activities including killing and greed will consistently be found on the prohibited list as they undermine cultural stability. This might provide a valuable lesson in a country that is plagued by both.

Robert J. Boes

Ely