Readers write: Contempt and empathy, mobile citizens, and more
The other side
I read the Monitor faithfully and am grateful for the mostly balanced and well-written articles.聽Regarding 鈥淎 tale of two Janets 鈥� and the nation鈥� in the Nov. 2 Monitor Weekly: I have a 鈥淛anet鈥� in my life, and reading this cover story deepened my understanding of the legitimacy of her ideas.
Yet I am astounded that immigration was mentioned as an issue in the story, but COVID-19 was not. I trust neither Janet has lost anyone to the coronavirus, and I hope that continues to be the case.聽I鈥檓 a registered nurse and have taken care of COVID-19 patients. It is deadly.
Joanna Stull
Waltham, Massachusetts
Contempt and empathy
In the aftermath of the election, what better food for thought could there be than Noelle Swan鈥檚 column in the Oct. 5 Monitor Weekly, 鈥淚s there room for empathy in politics?鈥� By sharing examples of compassion shown by earlier politicians, she highlights its absence in the present political discourse.
Sympathizers of President Donald Trump stress their horror at the criticism that Mr. Trump endures. I believe they see themselves in him. His humiliation is their own: They deeply feel the sting of being not only ignored, but also belittled by college-
educated voters and professional elites like the press.
It鈥檚 one thing to disagree with someone鈥檚 opinions, and another to show contempt for that person. I think that a strong reason why Mr. Trump has attracted so many voters is the disdain shown by liberal figures toward him and his cohort.
Empathy requires the ability to accept and respect those who are not like us. That鈥檚 something we all need to learn.
Inger Hellstrom
Greenwich, Connecticut
League labels
Regarding the 鈥淚n a Word鈥� column 鈥淕o ... Nimrods? The odd origins of team names鈥� in the Nov. 16 Monitor Weekly:聽Melissa Mohr left out the Minnesota Vikings, so named because descendants of real-life Vikings arrived from Norway and populated the state. Tough people!
Helen Harold
West Salem, Wisconsin
Science and belief
Regarding 鈥淲hat does 鈥榝ollow the science鈥� mean?鈥� in the Sept. 14 Monitor Weekly:聽I believe this article did a disservice to readers for two reasons.聽Firstly, in contorting the narrative into pretzels in an attempt to preserve 鈥渂alance,鈥� the writers inflated the conservative talking points about 鈥渇reedom鈥� and 鈥渃ost.鈥澛�
Secondly, the article lacks a full discussion of consequences. In all decisions, one of the questions should be 鈥淲hat happens if we get it wrong?鈥� Yet the writers didn鈥檛 ask that basic question of any of the 鈥渄oubters.鈥澛燭he COVID-19 virus is literally a matter of life and death; it must not be treated as an abstract discussion.
Rusty Wyrick
Ghivizzano, Italy
Mobile citizens
The cover story by Stephanie Hanes, 鈥淭he new digital nomads,鈥� in the Nov. 16 Monitor Weekly brought up a couple of questions and concerns for me.聽Of what community is the digital nomad a member? Where does he vote? Does he know enough about local issues to be an informed citizen in local elections? Presumably he鈥檒l never be called for jury duty. Citizen involvement 鈥� or rather the lack of it 鈥� is already a civic problem. Finally, what is the environmental impact of a 40-foot RV?
Howard Hansen
Forest Park, Illinois
