Inbox
How to Aid Afghanistan
"The Right War": an oxymoron if ever there was one [July 28]. I was born when World War II was raging and served in the military during the Vietnam era. Fortunately, I wasn't called upon to kill or be killed, but tens of thousands of others were. There is no hope for peace on earth as long as war is considered the right thing to do. Each side in a war considers its cause to be right, including the Taliban and al-Qaeda, which call their wars "holy"--another oxymoron. When will people ever learn? Carlos Carrier, LONG BEACH, CALIF.
Terrorists are mobile and headed from all over to Iraq because the U.S. was there. Now Afghanistan is becoming the hotbed, and terrorists will flow there. The problem is that no foreign force, including the former Soviet Union, has ever been successful in Afghanistan. Could this be why the U.S. chose to fight terrorists in Iraq? Charles Langhorn, AUBURN, CALIF.
Could we somehow get both John McCain and Barack Obama to read Rory Stewart's article on Afghanistan? Stewart is knowledgeable, comprehensive and realistic. We very badly need his ideas to be discussed and, more important, implemented, especially in the face of the tactics proposed by both presidential candidates. Jane Carder, MACON, GA.
Chastity Meets Controversy
Purity balls strike me as a contradiction in terms [July 28]. Dressing up children as adults and putting them in a mature environment focused on sexual behavior surely offers a glimpse of the very temptations these fathers are trying to forestall. I wonder how many of these men are involved in creating the society they are so fearful of for their daughters. Making a "vow before God" to protect the purity of another is presumptuous and in any case probably requires sainthood. I'll go with a purity barbecue for my daughter: in the sunshine, where God can find me. Peter Waugh, NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C.
Fathers who are genuinely concerned with the well-being of their daughters rather than compelled to control them have a more sensible and effective approach: they behave as role models who demonstrate healthy relationships in their interactions with wives, girlfriends and other females. Could purity ceremonies for the sons of these men wipe out the demand for Girls Gone Wild? Lisa Deck Drdul, AMHERST, N.Y.
Your article mentions a girl who was assaulted, then consumed with guilt. Why was her attacker not raised to treat women respectfully? If a daughter can promise purity in Dad's presence, why can't a son? Lily Weiss, LAWRENCE, N.Y.
McCain's Bush Problem
Though James Carney adequately highlights the personal rivalry between President George W. Bush and McCain, his reference to McCain's divergence from Bush on policy issues is dramatically overstated [July 28]. While McCain's previous vocal opposition to Bush's agenda has secured him the "maverick" label, his Senate record has followed the party line on almost every major issue except tax cuts (a position he has since reversed) and torture. Katie Mercuro, ASHBURN, VA.
An Economic Reality Check
For people lucky enough to hold stock, consumer confidence is indeed a state of mind. But for people with fixed incomes and the working poor who could barely pay their bills before, the current fiscal situation is a very real crisis. Try raising a 6-month-old baby when your water has been cut off. Try coming back from your chemo appointment to find that your electricity isn't working. Try deciding whether to pay your rent this month to forestall eviction or fill your tank with gas so you don't get fired from your job. How dare we think of bailing out greedy people who bought McMansions they couldn't afford, when seniors and disabled people are losing basic necessities through no fault of their own? Marybeth Moore, HOLLYWOOD, MD.
Cracking Up Is Hard to Do
James Poniewozik asks, "has America lost its sense of humor?" [July 28]. Yes, thanks to this Administration's successful politics of fear, division and deceit. Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, et al provide those who did not re-elect Bush with not only comic relief but also much appreciated validation. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people have died for no apparent reason. And hundreds of thousands of American voters remain devoted to the Administration that caused this carnage. I won't laugh until we get our country back. Sandy Light, ROANOKE, VA.
As any comedian will tell you, there is always a joke or two that he wishes he had not told. Not because it wasn't funny but because it was over the top or in poor taste. Let's say the New Yorker decides to run a cover cartoon of Senator McCain in a wheelchair, with his wife Cindy carefully feeding him from an Ensure can so as not to stain his bib. Again, in poor taste. It is often said that when sarcasm misses its mark by a little, it misses by a mile. Raymond F. Ramirez, MABLETON, GA.
There is no excuse for your flighty defense of the New Yorker cover depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as fist-bumping terrorists. You ask in the piece if America has lost its sense of humor--America has not. But we have lost patience with the kind of hatemongering that drove the New Yorker to try to sell magazines by marginalizing the man who will be the next President of the United States. You should be ashamed of defending its terribly bad decision to run that cover. Thomas Rajala, STOCKTON, CALIF.
In the 18th century, Jonathan Swift was criticized for his satirical essay A Modest Proposal, which suggests that poor Irish treat their children like food and sell them to the rich. Swift was not promoting cannibalism or infanticide: he thought his audience would understand the absurdity of such ludicrous ideas. Does the New Yorker really believe Obama is a Muslim extremist and his wife a terrorist? No, but the editors thought Americans were smart enough to interpret the utter ridiculousness as an exaggeration--one that fits well into this increasingly overdramatic presidential campaign. Lauren Tighe, SAGINAW, MICH.
Bums "R" Us
Like Nancy Gibbs, I eagerly await the arrival of "some new bums" in the political arena [July 28]. I even know some who would be perfect: an eighth-grade English teacher who knows the Constitution inside and out; an empathetic nurse with the experience to help establish a universal health-care plan. Sadly, these outstanding outsiders will remain outside until our system changes its rules by drastically limiting the amount of money a candidate is allowed to raise and by reducing the amount of time a candidate may campaign. Only by leveling the field will those players be able to enter the game. Ronna L. Edelstein, PITTSBURGH, PA.
Why can't we elect outsiders to replace the bums in Congress? Because the voters want only the other guy's bum thrown out, not their bum. Their bum brings home the pork. Until the voters in Idaho throw out Senator Mike Crapo and not just wish for the defeat of Teddy Kennedy, nothing is ever going to change. We have met the enemy, and he is us. Keith Hull, BOISE, IDAHO
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