海角大神

Trump and journalism

I found the March 13 cover story, 鈥�The war over facts,鈥� a delight. Your magazine always provides readers with a balanced view. Your citation of historical facts gave me a perspective that I had lacked. Whereas I do not care for President Trump鈥檚 attitudes (or policies), I was relieved to see that this disdain for the press is not unique among politicians.

I also appreciated the DC Decoder article, 鈥淚s Trump on a 鈥榙ictatorial path鈥�?鈥� The comments by Steven Schier reassured me that we are not on an 鈥渦nprecedented dictatorial path.... Not yet.鈥澛�

Please keep up your wonderful journalism. I have been enjoying 海角大神 (print version) for about 15 years. I first subscribed to it when my elderly dad told me he had used it in his high school English classes in 1938.

Jeanne Mattole

Honeydew, Calif.

Terms for land

The Feb. 20 Upfront column, 鈥�What decides a claim on land?,鈥� twice mentions 鈥渢he Holy Land.鈥� Is it not high time at least to rethink this phrase? Better yet, why not retire it? If only part of the planet is holy, as the phrase implies, what does that make the rest of it?

Moreover, if a bit of that land is holier than anyplace else, which bit is it? Does it encompass Mecca and Medina, lands holy to Islam? The aboriginal people of Hawaii revere land as an ancestor. First Nations of North America venerate places like Devils Tower. To Hindus, the Ganges River is holy. Whoever built the ancient places of worship on England鈥檚 Salisbury Plain clearly thought of that land as holy. All these people would probably challenge the notion that only one place, not theirs, is the Holy Land.

I am not just quibbling over words. Many of today鈥檚 environmental, political, and spiritual problems are rooted in ideas about human relations with land. Perhaps our world would be more pure and peaceful if people would embrace the concept that the entire planet on which we live is holy ground.

Heu 鈥榠onalani Wyeth

Anahola, Hawaii