I read your recent Left Field column ( "Reefer Madness," March 17 ) on the Tannahill family's lone stand in resistance to an unwarranted search of their child with great interest.  If only citizens understood how much the Constitution meant to our forefathers, as the Tannahills seem to.  Unfortunately, it appears the majority of the country either has no clue what it means, or lives in fear of repercussions from the ruling class that is attempting to nullify the sacred document in the name of "safety," just as Benjamin Franklin had warned us.  I don't recall the exact quote, and I have seen it attributed to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson as well, but one of them had this to say: "Those who would sacrifice essential liberty for temporary safety, deserve neither freedom, nor safety."

I'd like to ask your readers if they are capable of understanding what that means.  Thank you, citizens of Lubbock, for caving in to peer pressure and sacrificing your children's rights under the Fourth Amendment, setting a precedent for further government intrusion.  Larry Tannahill and his family are true patriots.  People like this deserve more support than your whispers, but it appears that the rose isn't the only thing in Texas that's yellow....

Come on, restore my faith in humanity and stand up for what you know is right.

Christopher A.  Joseph