Letters to the Editor
borinquena
Published Letters: 228 Editor's Choice: 26
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It's not about hating animals
[Read the article: A pit bull killed her dog and now she's lost to me]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You don't have to be a dog hater to think there's something really wrong with valuing animal relationships over human relationships. I have four cats and wish I could get a dog. I've been feeding strays since I was a kid. And when my mom lost her beloved dog I sent her a sympathy card. But the LW's husband is fighting a potentially fatal illness. That trumps the dog dying, end of story. I think the LW is being extraordinarily understanding and empathetic under the circumstances. My feeling is that if her friend can't get her head out of her ass to offer some sympathy and support, the LW should just accept that the friendship is over.
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Animal love not always compatible with human love
[Read the article: A pit bull killed her dog and now she's lost to me]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For those of you who are animal lovers and also advocate for humans, that's great. Unfortunately, what I've seen more and more recently are people who use their love for animals as a way to express their disgust for human beings. An example (check out the comments):
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2007/03/this_is_you_at_.html
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GO!!!
[Read the article: Should I go to the extravagantly prestigious school of my dreams?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There is money out there for you. Start researching now--you'd be amazed at the number of scholarships and grants that are available. And speaking as someone who grew up in a poor, alcoholic, plate-tossing family, two of my proudest achievements are my bachelor's from an Ivy League school and my master's, fully paid for by a fellowship. You will never regret going for it.
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The name means something
[Read the article: Should I go to the extravagantly prestigious school of my dreams?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think you can get as good an education at a state or no-name school as you can at a top-ier institution. But having a prestigious name on your resume does count for something. It impresses employers, it makes it easier to get into a prestigious graduate program, it gives you access to a large pool of successful alumni. These are not insignificant benefits. I don't advocate bankrupting yourself for your degree, but if you get a good aid package, there are a lot of advantages to going to the name school.
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To Chris
[Read the article: My dad threatened to shoot us all and chop us into pieces]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If he hurts himself, he brought it on himself.
But what if he drives head on into a school bus? Or kills a pedestrian crossing the road? If the old bastard were only a threat to himself that would be one thing, but driving after having his license revoked is putting every other driver on the road in danger. Disabling the car was the right thing to do. The other alternative is to alert the police and have him arrested--is that more humane?
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Your son may or may not be gay
[Read the article: Is my 13-year-old son gay?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But if he is, you may find it helpful to read an article recently published in the NY Times. Please click on my username below to follow the link.
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Love this
[Read the article: My backroad memorial]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Susan, thank you for the beautiful essay. I love your writing and I knew this piece would be a treat.
For those of you condeming her, for God's sake, get over yourselves. I'm so tired of the prigs on Salon.
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I'm with David
[Read the article: Classical music falls on deaf ears]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was married to a musician studying at Julliard who often played in the subway and as a result I'm more educated than the average person about classical music. I believe I would've been one of the people who'd stopped and donated money to Bell. But I don't blame the people who didn't. We don't know what they were thinking. Many of them might have appreciated the music but were too pressed for time to stop. Yes, that's sad, but it's a reality for many people. That doesn't mean they don't appreciate beauty in other contexts. It doesn't mean they are dead inside.
Also, to address some points made by other commenters:
I think the Post article was a commentary on how we cut ourselves off from beauty in our daily lives because we are so focused on the daily grind-- not a commentary on the swinishness of D.C. inhabitants.
If it wasn't meant to comment on the swinishness of D.C. inhabitants, why was the headline a play on "Pearls Before Swine?"
God forbid that the cubicle goes unattended or the hamster wheel unspun for twenty minutes while someone enjoys a live musical work by a living master..
A poster during Weingarten's live chat on the Washington Post website said that if he is five minutes late to work it is deducted from his vacation time. A lot of people risk losing their jobs if they are late. And it's really hard to appreciate beauty if you can't pay your rent or afford groceries.
I do think it had more to do with people missing beauty due to being focused on "survival" or "daily life. I think what is lost is that everything has an appropriate time, and people do need to live. The coolness of starving artists who live on beauty is a nice conceit in La Boheme (Rent if you must), etc, but for the rest of us, financially "straight" lives (the ubiquious "day job" keeps us sane and protects those we are responsible for.
Exactly.
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Cost of living varies a lot
[Read the article: Embarrassment of riches]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]David, in some parts of the country you can get a house for $40K or less. Not to say that $12K is a great salary anywhere, but don't assume that Anonymous is BSing.
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Look at the lives of real heroes
[Read the article: I dream of living a heroic life but I fear I'm just mediocre]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Ghandi and Nelson Mandela both had law degrees, Martin Luther King Jr. had a Ph.D., and all three were married and had children. They had to study, do their homework, earn a living and raise their families. In addition, they all spent time in the trenches, working insane hours in obscurity in order to found and grow the movements that led to profound change. The point being, every act of heroism is founded in day-to-day mundanity. Even firefighters have to train to be lifesavers and then spend years of their lives sitting in the firehouse, playing cards and waiting for the moment to put their skills into action.
You don't want to do the work. Your dreams don't mean shit except as a way to escape your everyday responsibilities. If you truly want to do great things, pick a cause and start working. Otherwise, shut up, marry your girlfriend and settle down.