Letters

(3 of 3)

Mistakes Were Made

In "The Year of Living Erroneously" [Dec. 29--Jan. 5], Andrew Sullivan wrote that in 2003, "The more sure of things we were, the more sharply our reality got checked." But was the "we" supposed to refer to average people? As Sullivan's examples point out, it was often the press that reported information that was supposedly accurate but in fact wasn't. Average consumers of news were not living erroneously. We were just watching the media's standards sink lower, into more uncharted depths.
JOHN STUVER
Burbank, Calif.

According to Sullivan, we are all to blame for the state of the world even for the invasion of Iraq, since the war "was at least partly built on a series of deceptions, mistakes and failures. By everyone." But foreign countries are rarely invaded because of my mistakes. In fact, if I thought my actions would have serious global consequences, I might spend a little more time gathering facts. However, Sullivan's allusion to Frodo Baggins, hero of The Lord of the Rings, was an unintentionally brilliant commentary on Bush and his crusade against terrorism: a small being wandering in a world of good and evil, solely responsible for the fate of all. Unfortunately, we don't live in Middle-earth, and there was never a Fellowship. And perhaps Frodo was more capable of understanding the complexities of our world than Bush is.
TOM PATRICK
Evanston, Ill.

An Unkind Cut

I found it offensive that in your section of people who had "15 Minutes of Fame" in 2003 [Dec. 29--Jan. 5], you included mountaineer Aron Ralston, the climber who had been pinned by a boulder and freed himself by cutting off his arm. What Ralston did was courageous and necessary to save his life. Instead of having 15 minutes of fame, Ralston I am sure would rather still have his right arm.
JUDY SEBASTIAN
Chester Springs, Pa.

Libya Comes Clean

The Bush administration scored a victory when Libya's Muammar Gaddafi agreed to dismantle his secret unconventional-weapons program [Dec. 29--Jan. 5]. Gaddafi may have seen Saddam's fate and become worried that the war on terrorism might be moving toward him. It is encouraging that Libya has come clean about its attempt to develop weapons of mass destruction (WMD). But there is a strong possibility that countries not listed as rogue states or as part of the "axis of evil" may still be producing WMD. Let us hope that nations like North Korea and Iran are paying attention.
HAROLD AYODO
Aurangabad, India