I'll be the first to admit I'm wrong -- in the unlikely event that should ever happen. (Joke!) But today this space is given over to some perspectives that amplify on points made here recently.

First topic: The Patrick Henry charter-school proposal, discussed here on May 2. Thursday night the Richmond School Board will meet to consider the proposal -- at 5 p.m. in the School Board conference room at City Hall.

Regarding that proposal (which represents the best of what so many in education say they want: parental involvement), a letter from a resident of Woodland Heights to a member of the School Board merits wider circulation. It's too long to reprint in full, but here are some choice cuts:

"Our one child has attended William Fox Elementary School as an out-of-zone student, having been admitted in a bizarre process that involved interested parents standing in line for more than 24 hours in competition for a few available spaces . . . .

"Each year we have received a letter indicating that our son might not be able to attend Fox; we have not received confirmation of attendance until late August in most instances. My son has been a scholar-roll student, [but] was not one of the 50 students chosen for attendance in the International Baccalaureate Program at Lucille Brown Middle School. We are informed that Albert Hill may not accept out-of-zone students other than those admitted through the 'No Child Left Behind' program. Thus, we are within one month of the end of the school year, and have no commitment from the city that our son will be able to attend an acceptable program.

"I trust that you will agree that this level of uncertainty is unacceptable, and indicates poor performance by the city school system administration . . . .As an elected official, you have a duty to help ensure that the City of Richmond will remain a viable entity. Attracting middle-class families to live in the city is essential to the preservation of livable urban neighborhoods . . . .

"[T]HE PATRICK Henry proposal, if approved, will likely be of immense benefit to Woodland Heights and surrounding neighborhoods. Since Woodland Heights children . . . are likely to be turned away from Fox and Munford Schools in the future, a quality alternative is needed . . . .I ask that you actively support the Patrick Henry School Initiative."

Second topic: Aid to developing nations, discussed here a week ago. The column quoted Kenyan economist James Shikwati's remarks to Der Spiegel concerning the harm done to that country's farming industry by the United States' practice of dumping heavily subsidized crops over there.

Shikwati's remarks struck a chord with one reader, who e-mailed: "I was raised in Kenya many years ago and have been back often, taking people on safari and visiting family and friends. I have a cousin who lives and farms on the shores of Lake Naivasha. The group I had on safari, a couple of years ago, stayed at the farm and one of the group said to my cousin 'If there was one thing that you would say to the U.S., what would that be?' His reply was: 'Stop dumping all your subsidized crops in Kenya, we are perfectly able to feed ourselves if you would leave us alone!'"

SHIKWATI'S REMARKS extended beyond food aid. He also made some bracing comments about the flood of donated clothing: "Why do we get these mountains of clothes? No one is freezing here. Instead, our tailors lose their livelihoods. They're in the same position as our farmers. No one in the low-wage world of Africa can be cost-efficient enough to keep pace with donated products."

Westerners are killing the developing world with kindness. So why do they keep doing it? Novelist Uzodinma Iweala had some pertinent comments on that score not long ago in "Stop Trying to 'Save' Africa":

"Such campaigns, however well-intentioned, promote the stereotype of Africa as a black hole of disease and death. News reports constantly focus on the continent's corrupt leaders, warlords, 'tribal' conflicts, child laborers, and women disfigured by abuse and genital mutilation. These descriptions run under headlines like 'Can Bono Save Africa?' or 'Will Brangelina Save Africa?' . . . .

"There is no African, myself included, who does not appreciate the help of the wider world, but we do question whether aid is genuine or given in the spirit of affirming one's cultural superiority . . . .Every time a well-meaning college student speaks of villagers dancing because they were so grateful for her help, I cringe. Every time a Hollywood director shoots a film about Africa that features a Western protagonist, I shake my head -- because Africans, real people though we may be, are used as props in the West's fantasy of itself."

Parting thought: If you're looking for the unifying theme binding these seemingly disparate topics, try self-reliance. Ordinary people -- in Richmond or half a world away -- can take care of themselves quite well, thank you -- if only paternalistic busybodies would get out of the way.

My thoughts do not aim for your assent -- just place them alongside your own reflections for a while.

--Robert Nozick.
Contact A. Barton Hinkle at (804) 649-6627 or bhinkle@timesdispatch.com.