Quotes of the Day
Romney's Mormonism
As a faithful Mormon and conflicted Democrat, I offer my thanks and appreciation for the thoughtful discussion of "The Mormon in Mitt" [Oct. 8]. The piece was highly informative and remarkably fair to both the candidate and his faith.
Robert E. Riggs,
Orem, Utah, U.S.
Jon Meacham's story was insightful, but the most striking statement was Romney's own from 2007 that "Americans do not respect believers of convenience, those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world." By his own logic, Romney deserves to fail, given that he has reversed course on a variety of issues. And the photo of his polygamous great-granduncle belies GOP assertions that marriage is an unchanging institution consisting always of one man and one woman. Indeed, the Mormons posing as champions of "traditional" marriage today is the height of hypocrisy.
Robert Shaffer,
Mechanicsburg, Pa., U.S.
I would say the U.S. has come a long way if the presidential contest is between a black man and a member of a religious minority.
Karin Judkins,
Torino, Italy
Your expressive cover illustration shows, more than words can, the framework of Romney's mind. The article also exposed a correlation between Romney's frequently cited "flip-flopping" and the zigzag course of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which at opportune moments shifts stances on issues like polygamy. What remains is for the American people to decide whether they want to honor with their votes this kind of realpolitik on Election Day.
Helmut Pfanner,
Lochau, Austria
In his attempt to destroy Romney's credibility, Meacham attacks and offends Mormons. I know little about the candidate, but I have had the gift of knowing quite a few Mormons, and they bring their values into every part of their life and spend a lot of their time doing the best for their communities.
Franco Angiolini,
Milan
Race and the Race
As a proponent of racial progress, I feel uncomfortable with the implications of Touré's "The Magical Negro Falls to Earth" [Oct. 8]. Do I have to feel guilty or ashamed or that I am somehow an opponent of racial progress if I do not vote for Obama this time around? Instead of voting for a candidate on the basis of the color of his skin, shouldn't one vote according to his platform and policies? Isn't that the greatest racial progress?
Zachary Schwartz,
Los Angeles
Making Americans feel unaccommodating and biased by highlighting Obama's race makes Touré seem very desperate, myopic and bigoted. If American voters were that narrow-minded, Obama would never have been elected.
Aty Adejo,
Karu, Nigeria
We will be closer to equality when articles like this are no longer published.
Mike Meiring,
Johannesburg
A Crooner Remembered
It was much to my sorrow and dismay to read that Andy Williams passed away [Briefing, Oct. 8]. He will be remembered by his fans as a well-dressed gentleman who brought a new genre to classic pop music with his soothing mellow voice. Thanks a lot, Andy, for your iconic music.
Syed Rashid Ali Shah,
Vroomshoop, The Netherlands
Spotlight on Venezuela
Many thanks to Tim Padgett for presenting such a realistic and balanced article of Venezuela's situation ["The Twilight of Ch[a {a}]vez," Oct. 8]. The recent presidential election has given Hugo Chávez another opportunity to improve things. But it remains to be seen whether this "democratator" would make any changes now. When the next election takes place, he will have been in power for 20 years — too much time for so few results.
Andrés Volpe,
Caracas
Islam's Radical Fringe
Thank you for the article "The Rise of the Salafis" and for bringing this issue to a wider audience [Oct. 8]. The clash between the secular world and the radical Muslims or political Islam is not limited to countries in the Middle East but can be seen worldwide. Many people in Europe, in areas with large Muslim immigrant populations, are wary of the threat of radicalization of Muslim youth.
Felix Rieder,
Stuttgart, Germany
Unfit for Some Grownups
I shall not read J.K. Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy ["Disenchantment," Oct. 8]. Throughout my academic or my private life, my reading has remained — for my own personal comfort and not for moral reasons — within the boundaries of decent subject matter. Rowling's allusions to used condoms and a "miraculously unguarded vagina," etc., place her outside my comfort zone and outside the boundaries of normal decency. I shall eschew her.
Timothy Sidwell-Thomas,
Oxford, England
Rethinking Energy
In "Coal, Hard Truths," mine owner Robert E. Murray is pictured in front of a mountain of mine tailings so high, it obscures the wooded hills behind it [Oct. 1]. What better testimony to the cost of "cheap," abundant coal? Today's coal-mining methods, which destroy the environment, have advanced little since the 19th century. Coal need not be dirty and damaging if mine owners and utilities focus more on their responsibility to posterity and less on obstinately defending the ways of the past. There are cleaner and better alternatives. We should promote them.
Edith Neimark,
Princeton, N.J., U.S.
Coal as an energy source is from another era, and so are Murray and his cronies' arguments. To equate America's interests with those of his coal-mining business is only self-serving. If he cares for the livelihood of his workers, it would seem more sensible to spend all the money he fundraises for the anti-Obama campaign on clean-coal technologies and the welfare of his employees.
Athanasios Hatzilakos,
Athens
Murray embodies part of the U.S. population that is backward-looking and uninformed. How strange it seems to someone like me who grew up with the notion that the U.S. was the land of opportunity, the land of people who embrace change, the land that brought humankind some of the greatest technological advances in history.
Thomas Ankele,
Weilheim, Germany
Seeing the Bright Side
Re "The Case for Optimism" [Oct. 1]: Bill Clinton's optimism regarding an AIDS-free generation becoming "a tangible goal rather than a dream" is sadly not shared by activists for sex workers' rights all over the world. A major reason is that the praised PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) denies funding to organizations providing services to sex workers — one of the key populations in the fight against HIV. Not only are many overseas organizations excluded from funding for outreach programs, such as condom distribution or drop-in centers offering HIV testing for sex workers, but many other harm-reduction organizations were forced to shut down existing services for sex workers in order to maintain funding. Only when officials accept that sex workers and their advocates are crucial in the fight against HIV will the world really be free from this plague.
Luca Stevenson,
London
This article left me confident in the future of my children and grandchildren. Clinton revealed himself to be a true statesman, a powerful individual with clarity of vision who isn't criticizing or complaining and is putting his life, energy, contacts and money into helping human beings around the world.
John May,
Dublin
While the former President and those supporting the Clinton Global Initiative are to be commended for their efforts, it is deplorable that they evade the basic challenge we face on this planet: overpopulation. In concert with most other do-gooders, Clinton conspicuously avoids this fundamental issue from which almost all others (famine, energy shortage, global warming, etc.) derive. The "fight for the future" will be lost if the issue of overpopulation continues to be swept under the rug.
M. Geiger,
Birchwil, Switzerland
Crisis Response
The actions of two presidential candidates amid the recent deadly protests in the Middle East revealed much about each man's character ["Flash Point," Sept. 24]. As President Barack Obama dispatched troops to secure U.S. citizens overseas, former governor Mitt Romney dispatched surrogates to politicize a human tragedy. Romney's actions are sadly illustrative of a campaign strategy in which no tragedy is too great to exploit if it will help please the base.
Brad A. Hoffman,
Solon, Ohio, U.S.
