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China's rampant development has produced a legacy of terrible pollution, and China gives its citizens no voice in what happens to their neighborhoods. Our system may be inconvenient, but it allows our society to balance individual rights with the benefits of development. As you noted, that's one thing China can learn from us.
Will Ashenmacher, MINNEAPOLIS
For decades, development in the U.S. has incorporated the three ingredients of growth, namely, social, political, and until recent years, economic progress. While economic progress in China is astonishing, the authorities have mainly focused on the economic and to a lesser extent on the social progress. Political progress is long overdue. In societies where no proper checks and balances are in place, where the rule of law is not fully observed and basic rights of citizens including property rights are not respected, economic development alone would mainly serve the interest of a few while depriving the majority equal opportunity to benefit from the fruits of the development. Both China and the U.S. have a lot to learn from each other.
Abebe Areru, ADDIS ABABA
Say It in Mandarin
"Postcard: Minneapolis," about kids learning Mandarin, brought back memories of high school, when we built bomb shelters to survive a Soviet nuclear attack and gasped at communist atrocities in China [Nov. 23]. With the U.S. over its head in debt, knowing Mandarin might be a good idea. What a difference a half-century makes.
John Siewert, LA VERNE, CALIF., U.S.
Leave the Politics to the Politicians
"A Tale of Two Priests" by Amy Sullivan details a schism closely related to political ideology [Nov. 16]. Yet these debates always fail to engage us Catholics who are libertarians. We believe the force of government only makes things worse, especially on issues like abortion that are not universally accepted as wrong. (Witness the government's failed war on drugs as an example.) Archbishop Raymond Burke's position is misguided. If abortion is your No. 1 issue, why make things worse for the unborn by getting government involved?
Christopher Doll, SALIDA, CALIF., U.S.
Sullivan got it all wrong. Burke didn't object to a funeral Mass for Senator Ted Kennedy — a private one, that is. What he objected to was a public funeral, presided over by Cardinal Seán O'Malley and capped by a eulogy by pro-abortion President Obama. Such a lavish ceremony appeared to give the church's blessing to Kennedy's career, even though he publicly and consistently rejected ecclesiastical teaching on abortion and same-sex marriage.
William Conroy, MIDDLETOWN, N.Y., U.S.
What Burke appears not to grasp is that the First Amendment forbids the making of civil law on the basis of a religious belief. The point at which life begins is a matter of religious dogma, not scientific fact. The beautiful thing about this country is that you can live by what you believe; you just can't make others live by your beliefs. Fortunately, many devout Roman Catholic lawmakers, like Kennedy and John Kerry, have understood this.
Gilbert Splett, MADISON, WIS., U.S.
Your story clearly narrates the contemporary Catholic drama of a struggle between a compassionate Catholic sanity (O'Malley) and a fierce regression into the rabid fundamentalism of the Inquisition (Burke).
John A. Dick, HEVERLEE, BELGIUM
Should the Archbishop choose to conduct a survey into the lives of most of us Catholics, I suspect that very few would emerge with unblemished records, yet we can only try to live good lives. I was stunned by his criticism of Cardinal O'Malley and Kathleen Sebelius. I respectfully suggest that the Archbishop should heed the phrase Judge not and you shall not be judged. I am glad that my faith is strong enough to withstand such outbursts.
Margaret McFadden, CRAIGHALL, SOUTH AFRICA