FOLLIES

Officers on the Japanese Battleship the Yamato - saki-inspired - felt that the three great follies were the "pyramids, the Great Wall of China and the Yamato. A worldly philosopher suggests that is "conspicuous material consumption." I contend it is the U.S. Congress. Each monumental folly signifies a death.

4,100 men were lost April 7th, 1945 in World War II, in a sea battle which culminated in the sinking of the largest warship ever built, the Yamato. The pyramids housed significant dead pharaohs. The Great Wall of China was built at the cost of thousands of lives. The habit of conspicuous consumption in America today represents the death of both savings and personal responsibility. Lastly, the death knell of personal freedom, stripped away by continuous legislation, has been sounded by our U.S. Congress - both parties ringing it loud and clear.

Is any good folly worth the price of a death? Or should it teach us a lesson in common sense? One thing is certain - people never learn.