Readers Write: Nostalgia for the Postal Service; Oversexualization of society; Good parents can be made
Letters to the Editor for July 28, 2014 weekly magazine:
Willis: There is nothing like the feeling of receiving a hand written letter
Lozer: Santa Barbara shoots showed problems of society's oversexualiztion
Gibel: Good parenting skills can be taught
Letters to the Editor for July 28, 2014 weekly magazine:
Willis: There is nothing like the feeling of receiving a hand written letter
Lozer: Santa Barbara shoots showed problems of society's oversexualiztion
Gibel: Good parenting skills can be taught
Nostalgia for the written letter
As a die-hard supporter of the [US Postal Service], I was delighted to read the July 7 & 14 Home Forum essay, 鈥淲hy I still cling to the mailman.鈥� Sending and receiving full-fledged, handwritten personal letters is rare for me these days. But I still believe in personal, hand-signed greeting cards, and I avail myself of every opportunity to send one via letter carrier; electronic greetings just aren鈥檛 the same. Additionally, I鈥檓 happy to affix a first-class stamp and send any number of items, when I could just as easily forward them via e-mail. It鈥檚 my way of supporting an institution I believe we will all sorely miss, if and when postal carriers become a thing of the past.
Alan Willis
Portland, Ore.
Underlying causes of shootings
While the online article 鈥淪anta Barbara Killings: Did misogynist hate groups play a role?鈥� (CSMonitor.com, May 28) makes a valid point that male shooters have been influenced by misogyny, I wonder if there is a more basic point to explore: the oversexualization of US culture. Because of this oversexualization, an unstable person may well think that he or she is entitled to sex. That鈥檚 the true problem that needs addressing.
Dan Lozer
Struble, Iowa
Good parents can be made
Regarding the May 19 cover story, 鈥淐an parenting really be taught?鈥�: There is no question in my mind that parenting can be taught. I was a high school health education teacher for 32 years in Long Island, N.Y., and our senior health course had a section on parenting. We taught about relationships, marriage, family planning, and children, including positive ways to raise them. I disagree with the notion that developing children鈥檚 鈥渟elf-esteem鈥� was a failure. You cannot 鈥済ive鈥� children self-esteem, but you can help develop it. And children with real self-esteem will not be 鈥渦nderachievers and bullies.鈥�
Ira H. Gibel
Pine, Ariz