Letters to the Editor
D Hall
Published Letters: 15 Editor's Choice: 5
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Diving is for Swimming Pools
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I grew up playing soccer, and every four years with the World Cup I go through the same process. First come the anticipation and excitment, then the pleasure of watching some great soccer, then disgust at the dives, arbitrary referees, etc. "WWF has more integrity" nailed it. I just spent Sunday afternoon watching Portugal and the Netherlands and can't help but be embarrased for the sport. At some point late into the first half it turned into a farce.
The arbitrary and unnecessarily severe penalties (yellow/red cards, penalty kicks) etc., make the game too dependent on the refs and not the players. As for increasing opening the game up, eliminate offsides in the penalty box - if the ball or a defender is in the box the attacker can be anywhere in the box as well.
In four years though, I will have forgotten the silliness of grown men flopping around and remember only the great game from my youth. Until the next terrible referee/ flop-fest.
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Go Easy
[Read the article: Why won't my friends just shut up and let me die?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Even edited, this was a great letter. And very sad.
The “keeping up the fight” comments seem off because they put responsibility on the person sick, like blame. The reality that we are fragile and don't have much control over circumstance is too frightening. Better to believe that the sick are just 'wimpy and weak-willed'.
How to get your friends to understand? Bring some friends along on doctor visits so the reality of what you're going through sinks in a little? Weed out some of the wimpy and weak-willed friends who can't deal? Share a little more of the heartache you've gone through in the last few years? Perhaps part of the reaction is because of your 'toughness', something that comes through in the letter, your friends really have no clue how fierce the battle has been and how fought-out you are.
Hopefully this is all moot, the tumor is benign, and the liver problems clear up when it's removed. My own wish for a happy ending. Go easy on them when they're annoying - they're scared.
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Stranger than we can imagine
[Read the article: The flying spaghetti monster]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]To say that the universe is abstract math equations misses the point. The universe is no more a set of math equations than the word “mouse” is an actual mouse. Mathematics gives us a way to describe and predict, but like all forms of language is an ultimately limited shorthand. Consider the famous Godel incompleteness theorem “all logical system of any complexity are, by definition, incomplete; each of them contains, at any given time, more true statements than it can possibly prove according to its own defining set of rules.” (Jones and Wilson, An Incomplete Education)
or another way - “within the system, there exist certain clear-cut statements that can neither be proved or disproved. Hence one cannot, using the usual methods, be certain that the axioms of arithmetic will not lead to contradictions ... It appears to foredoom hope of mathematical certitude through use of the obvious methods. Perhaps doomed also, as a result, is the ideal of science - to devise a set of axioms from which all phenomena of the external world can be deduced.” (Boyer – History of Mathematics)
Perhaps part of the problem with discussions about religion and big metaphysical questions, is that our language is inadequate to fully describe these 'things'... for lack of a better word. There is no logical understanding of these questions (for us finite humans).
Seeing religion and faith playing such a central role in so many peoples lives, a hard atheistic stance that religion = stupidity seems to run against some important element of human experience. I cannot prove if there is something more or not, but my understanding of people leads me to accept that some spirituality, soulfulness, or religion is necessary for many of us.
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Bush no friend of democracy
[Read the article: Iraq: War of imagination]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The article credits Bush's "commitment to democracy" for the fact that Chalabi was not 'appointed' to lead Iraq like Karzai was in Afghanistan. I seem to recall that it was Sistani and the Shiite majority threatening mass demonstrations that pushed the US into agreeing to elections in Iraq, rather than any US commitment to spreading democracy.
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Find Compassion
[Read the article: My half-brother locked me in the closet and I think I'm to blame]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Not sure I understand previous posters who don't think being locked in a confined space or tied up is a big deal. It's not easily explained, but it is a big deal. Consider that torture involves confined spaces and being tied into "stress" positions as much as it does physical violence. Think of how painful it can be when you're caught in an uncomfortable position for a long time. Then think of how much more delibrate this form of torture/abuse is, and how much longer it lasts.
The question the letter writer asks is - how do I think about this without taking away anyones humanity? Well, the roles of victim and abuser are dehumanizing. In this case the two people involved were not adults. Mostly likely someone taught the abuser their role. It sounds like perhaps two traumatized people trying to cope with a dangerous and frightening environment that dehumanized both of them into specific roles. It is not unusual for someone in the victim role to goad their abuser, in an attempt to exercise some control in an otherwise terrifying and unpredictable situation.
It is sometimes possible to set down your role and refuse to play. I believe compassion is humanizing. I also believe that compassion starts at home.
The way out doesn't focus on good/ bad, victim and abuser. It starts with feeling compassion for yourself, and understanding the why of your actions based on the situation you were in. It won't start with blaming yourself for someone else's actions. Blaming yourself may feel good, because it implies that you are in control of everything - a much more comforting illusion than realizing just how out of control things really were. Forgive yourself for not being in complete control of everything. If you can find compassion for yourself, it will naturally spread to others.