Quotes of the Day
The photo on the cover of your Nov. 24 issue is an O-bomination! Can we please wait to see how well the new President does before we canonize him?
Joseph Cortese II, WEST DES MOINES, IOWA, U.S.
Great cover — I have no doubt that Obama will step into F.D.R.'s shoes and make America the land of dreams again.
David Landau, PEACEHAVEN, ENGLAND
Thank you for the best cover of TIME I have ever seen. An absolutely brilliant composition!
Yngve Helgesson, RÖSTAANGA, SWEDEN
Liberalism: The Next Generation
Kudos to Peter Beinart on "The New Liberal Order" [Nov. 24]. Because of a remote personal connection — I am a cousin of the infamous William Ayers — I have followed the details of the election avidly, though in the past I found the process quite boring. TIME did a great job of highlighting different components of the race with articles from a variety of viewpoints.
Jayne Ayers, DOUSMAN, WIS., U.S.
The election of Barack Obama does not represent a "new liberal order" so much as the latest desire to establish responsibility in the congressional playpen. For decades, Americans have voted in politicians with the hope that they would work together for the common good. And for decades, most of these politicians have acted like spoiled, self-interested toddlers. "Change we can believe in"? Our needs are much simpler than that. At this point, we would settle for someone who can persuade Congress to act like adults — and maybe even share. If not, we will be interviewing for a new day-care provider in 2012.
Patrick Hester, CARY, N.C., U.S.
Most informed people acknowledge that the financial mess began not with Republican deregulation but with liberal social engineering — exploited by Wall Street, to be sure, and unchecked by either party. A Republican House helped pass the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the most sweeping regulatory bill since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt. If liberals rule unconstrained, we won't recognize our country in 30 years.
Lori Zimmerman, RED BANK, N.J., U.S.
Beinart's article is extremely insightful. It never occurred to me that the liberalism of F.D.R. died in the '60s, but it makes sense that it was redefined by baby boomers and that the new definition solidified in Grant Park in 1968. Thanks for the enlightening perspective.
Courtez Brown, RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.
Beinart may be right in hailing a new dawn for American liberal politics, but before he celebrates, beware that this is not just another false dawn like so many before. Weren't we almost as enthused in 1960 when Kennedy beat Nixon? Look what happened within a decade: the moon landing, but also Vietnam and Nixon. Here in the U.K., New Labor's arrival in 1997 was greeted with much the same enthusiasm as Obama's is now. A decade on, we have a government every bit as reactionary and illiberal as any Tory government from the past century; official snooping and surveillance that would be totally unacceptable in the U.S.; Iraq and Afghanistan; and the worst recession in 80 years. Realistically, Obama will not be able to achieve as much as the liberals want.
Nick O'Shea, DORKING, ENGLAND
Somalia's Struggles
Yes, the Somali Islamic government had its faults [Nov. 24]. But you left out that after 15 years with no government, Somali businessmen created one to establish some order. They succeeded and actually stopped piracy. But the U.S. and Ethiopian militaries attacked the nation's hospitals and civilians and destroyed the government, bringing back piracy — not to mention possibly the worst refugee conditions in the world.
Don Lairs, AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.
Somalia is yet another example of international failure. For the United States, the lack of interest in the country is further evidence that the Bush Administration's foreign policy is merely a quest for oil. Had the U.S. been serious about fighting terrorists and stabilising the world, Iraq would still be ruled by Saddam Hussein and Somalia would be a region under American control. Somalia is the place that supports terrorism and threatens world interests by hosting the pirates that launch attacks on one of the world's busiest trade routes. Those are real threats. That the international presence is about to cease entirely in Somalia is outrageous.
Daniel Hokfelt, JÖNKÖPING, SWEDEN
Do or Die in Detroit
Failure for General Motors would be a national disaster, as Bill Saporito points out [Nov. 24]. What should GM do in the meantime? Get out and sell its vehicles. I have rented GM compact cars for the past 20 years and find them to be of excellent quality. GM salespeople need to get out of their cushy showrooms and offer to take people out for a demo ride and lunch at the deli. The company could win by a landslide.
Perry Munson, GROSSE POINTE, MICH., U.S.
Instead of bailing out an auto company that has not been competitive or innovative in years, why not give the funds to car companies that are doing well? Congress could require that the companies invest in the U.S., but other than that, let the market decide. Instead of throwing good money down a sinkhole, let's reward businesses that are innovative and give customers what they want. That used to be called capitalism.
Carlos Gonzalez-Najera, BURLINGTON, N.J., U.S.
I was surprised to read that Detroit needs a huge loan to create new fuel-efficient models. Both Ford and General Motors have an excellent range of fuel-efficient models in their overseas car plants, so all Detroit has to do is to apply their overseas expertise in the U.S. I drive a 1.2-liter Opel Corsa (made in Germany) and our second car is a 0.8-liter Chevrolet Matiz (made in Korea). These cars aren't "gas guzzlers."
Jan Nieuwenhuizen, DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS
Motherless Children
How ironic that those emigrant Filipina mothers you profile in "The Motherless Generation" [Nov. 24] are in turn often bringing up a generation of motherless kids in rich countries — kids whose mothers return to work before their children are of school-going age; kids who spend long days with Filipina nannies as "surrogate mothers." Few children — rich or poor, in whichever corner of the globe — prefer gifts and toys to the presence of their mothers. In both cases, the mothers' drive to provide for their offspring financially seems to avoid the simplest of facts: parenting cannot be outsourced.
Juliet Linley, ROME
For a decade my father lived alone while supporting his wife and children, who left Korea to pursue a more globally competitive education abroad. Although it was my father who stayed behind, I believe the emotional hardship for any divided family is similar. Understanding the sacrifices of my parents was a strong motivation to work hard at school, but relating to my father on a personal level after many years apart was hard work. Now I see that the conflict derived from a generation and culture gap, and he feared having a limited participation in my upbringing, so he felt it was his duty to correct me every chance he got. But as an "adult" it was difficult for me to take his lectures. Regardless of the parents' professions and salaries, divided families are the ultimate in love and sacrifice to provide a better future for the children. It may not always the best or the only way, but I will always be grateful to my parents and their decision.
Jamie Kyujin Paik, PARIS
The depiction of the Philippines' experience with overseas migration captures what I have seen in many parts of the country. Most of the newly constructed concrete homes you find in rural areas are built from remittances; people point to the homes and describe them as "from Saudi," "from Dubai," "from Italy," etc. When you ask a youngster what she dreams of being, she will say "I want to be a nurse, so I can go abroad." The outflow of Filipino workers is about supply and demand. It is about globalisation and economic growth. I just hope that this phenomenon is temporary and our country does not find it has been forced to destroy the fabric of family life.
Lisa Crisostomo, RILLAAR, BELGIUM
Holy Relics?
Tim McGirk's article [Nov. 24], makes a sweeping statement that "indisputable historical evidence that Jesus Christ, or any of the biblical prophets, truly existed is something that eludes religious scholars." In an article on Jesus Christ, the Encyclopaedia Britannica mentions that in 1st century Roman and Jewish sources there are a number of references to Jesus.
Pieter Pretorius, KIMBERLEY, SOUTH AFRICA
If the casket had the words "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" inscribed on it, then of course it was a fake. The English language didn't even exist yet, so what's all the hullabaloo about? But seriously, I wish you had said more about the inscription — for example, which language it was in or what the actual words were, transcribed into our alphabet.
Eila Kolu, KITEE, FINLAND
The fact is that we still don't know how the image on the Shroud of Turin was created. What we know is that the figure on the Shroud is that of a man who was crucified and the details of that crucifixion correspond to the accounts of Christ's crucifixion in the Gospels.
Reggie Norton, HONORARY TREASURER, THE BRITISH SOCIETY FOR THE TURIN SHROUD, FARINGDON, ENGLAND
Too Much Luxury
I very much enjoyed the article "No Free Rides, Kid" [Nov. 24]. I think the issue goes way beyond the privileged and their children. Today's children grow up in a material world; they are being pampered regardless of their parents' income. Most children don't even have to wait anxiously for Christmas or their birthday to be showered with often senseless gifts. Walking into my children's room makes me wonder what to get my 3-year-old for Christmas. It's no wonder the work ethic suffers somewhere down the line. Where are these classes for the "not-so-privileged" child? Can I sign up?
Esther Zach, PLANKSTADT, GERMANY
Ling Woo Liu correctly points out that, most of the time, spoiled kids grow up to be dependent on their family's wealth. This is unacceptable in today's society; everyone should start working to earn their own money and thus create more "working" brains. This in turn will help the development of countries.
Rami El Chamaa, BEIRUT
- Liberalism: The Next Generation; Somalia's Struggles; Do or Die in Detroit