Michael Beadle makes some interesting points in his opinion piece last week (Facing up to the inequities in our society,” SMN, Oct. 19). He does, however, completely miss the mark, in my opinion. Nowhere in his piece do I see the words, “personal responsibility.” In contrast to his talking about “one small man,” I’d like to talk about “one big man,” literally. His name is Mario.

Mario was my next door neighbor in Clearwater, Fla. Mario was a giant of a man, in many ways. He stood well over six feet, six inches, and at over 250 pounds he towered over me. Mario’s character was taller than his physical stature. Mario is Africa-American. One night my wife and I were out to dinner with Mario and his wife. He told me an interesting story.

Both he and his wife had grown up in one of Florida’s poorer locations. As a kid he did odd jobs. School was just “OK.” One summer during his high school days he had a job picking oranges. He was on a ladder up about 20 feet above the ground with a sack of oranges weighing more than 30 pounds over his shoulder. As he spread some limbs to get a better grip on some oranges, he came nose to nose with a rather large snake. As he backed up in fright he fell to the ground with that sack of oranges peppering his head and shoulders.

Between the salad and the baked potato Mario reflected on how, at that point in time, he decided to accept personal responsibility for his own life and get an education no matter what obstacles were put in front of him. Now a successful vice president of a major national bank, he is eagerly looking forward to retirement. Mario’s wife, who also grew up in the same neighborhood, finished college and became a success. Every one of her siblings did, too.

Their ability to recognize personal responsibility has passed on to the next generation of his family. His son is in the U.S. Army medical corps and his daughter has multiple master’s degrees from a prestigious Florida university.

Oh, I almost forgot something. Both Mario and his wife were products of a close family structure with two parents in the home.

Michael cites a lot of statistics. He leaves out the statistics of single-parent African-American families. He leaves out the demographics of births to unwed African American girls. He leaves out the damaging influence of today’s ghetto culture on these youths. They seem to think it is better to dress like a gang member, and that being cool is better than being educated.

No amount of money can fix the problem. Until black leaders preach personal responsibility and the benefits of the family unit and quit playing the victim, African-American youths will continue to suffer the problems they do now.

Yes, Mahatma Gandi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Tommy Lasorda said, “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.”

(Art Martin can be reached at artmartin@hotmail.com.)