U.S. role in aiding terror outside borders must be fully reported
I want to commend you for your article "Guatemalan truth panel confirms U.S. role in war" (Feb. 26). I am a former Peace Corps volunteer. Having lived in a Third World country and experienced the United States from the outside, I am frequently troubled by how often our country's foreign policy is at variance with our country's founding principles.
The mainstream media need to hold our country accountable for its actions throughout the world. Instead of catering to unrepresentative governments and big business interests, we need a foreign policy that focuses on human rights, one that encourages the poor (workers, farmers, indigenous people) in their efforts to achieve liberty and justice as full participants in their countries.
If the United States expects to maintain and enhance its leadership role in the world, it needs to do so by improving its moral leadership, not by throwing its military and economic weight around.
I hope to see more stories in The Sun focusing on foreign policy issues -- for example the U.S. role in Colombia and in Chiapas, Mexico. The people in the United States and our representatives in Congress need to know how our tax dollars are being used to oppress people in other countries so that our policies can be changed before more people are tortured and killed.
Raymond T. Donaldson, Fulton
Good news: Linda Tripp's lawyer-client rights intact
It is heartening to know that the attorney-client privilege still is intact for ordinary citizens such as Linda Tripp ("Tripp case hits a snag," Feb. 26).
It is good to realize that telling the truth before a grand jury is rewarded even when that truth may be an admission of guilt. We can all rest better knowing Ms. Tripp's rights are protected.
Angela Callahan, Baltimore
Loyola shows Towson U. how to be good neighbor
It was very encouraging to read "Loyola signs pact curbing property use" (Feb. 12). As city property owners and taxpayers who have been protesting Towson University students living in residential neighborhoods, we applaud Loyola's memorandum of understanding with the North Baltimore Neighborhood Coalition.
Of primary concern to the coalition was the avoidance of large numbers of congregating students. Loyola listened to its neighbors and wisely negotiated a legally binding agreement.
If only Towson University would follow Loyola's lead. Large numbers of students have found their way into our tiny neighborhood of Lake-Evesham. Houses that are designated as single-dwelling units are overcrowded, trash-strewn sources of noise. Students are in neighborhoods all along the York Road corridor because Towson cannot provide on-campus housing. We citizens get only sympathy and lip service from Towson as it pursues building a stadium that no one wants yet neglects to build dorms that thousands need.
Towson University should learn from its neighbor to the south -- build good will and keep neighborhoods intact.
Bobbie Smith, George Smith, Baltimore
It takes romantic realism to save past, make a buck
In reference to Gilbert Sandler's article "Fighting to save old city sites" (Feb. 23), the good guys are neither the romantics nor the realists, but the romantic realists. And those are the people who embrace historic preservation.
The romantic realists' preservation of the Power Plant brought us not only the survival of a landmark, but also Barnes & Noble, the ESPN Zone and the Hard Rock Cafe. It was not only nostalgia, but also good business. The realists' destruction of the Tower Building brought us a small parking lot.
With a preservation-based strategy for revitalization, everybody wins. The city can have its historic cake and eat it, too.
John Maclay, Baltimore
Harford's stance on nude seeks to sanitize the arts
I read with great interest Matthew Mosk's article "Harford delegation shows nude the door" (Feb. 15). I am not surprised that the Harford delegation took down the tasteful male nude painted by local artist Melissa Shatto from the walls of the House office building in Annapolis. The political and the bureaucratic mentality in Harford is not Victorian; it is craven when it comes to art.
The bureaucrats in government and in the corporate sector are out to destroy the biting edge in our culture. These men and women, lacking a sense of humor and irony, are terrified of controversies. They are usually indifferent to art and literature, except as status symbols in their upper echelons. Sanitizing the arts or suppressing the nonconformists is their method of keeping the peace.
We are fast becoming a bland people. Tailored for public consumption, our morals are deceptive. We shun ugly truths for clean lies and euphemisms. Because the entire country is a confluence of profit-seeking bureaucracies at the present time, we are creating a homogeneous society of deadly bores.
Usha Nellore, Bel Air
John Dorsey's criticism act will be hard one to follow
With the retirement of John Dorsey as The Sun's art critic, the paper and Baltimore have lost a most respected and erudite reporter of the region's art scene.
In the 36 years during which his columns appeared, the reader could count on well-balanced reviews that sought to enlighten, educate and encourage.
But John Dorsey did much more than see exhibitions and write off-the-cuff reactions to them. He was untiring in his search for facts; it was not unusual for him to contact the subject of a story again just prior to his deadline or request that an individual phone him at home, in the evening, with information. This is the mark of a truly devoted newspaperman.
While another competent art critic will undoubtedly follow in Mr. Dorsey's footsteps, it will be difficult to find one capable of filling his shoes.
Bennard B. Perlman, Baltimore
Sun's perspective on Africa unfair to polished people
It is incredible that Gilbert A. Lewthwaite's article "Africa's reality of 1999 is war" (Feb. 21, Perspective section), ever made it to publication.
Is Mr. Lewthwaite, in the dismal picture he paints, speaking for all 53 countries and the thousands of miles that make up this great continent? His article was destructive and will negatively impact business potential in countries that have realized stable and growing economies for several years.
The consistent neglect to report truly newsworthy happenings between the U.S. and African private sectors is extraordinary.
I meet successful Africans daily who use our institution for executive physicals while in the United States on business. It is unfair that these polished, well-traveled individuals from all over Africa must constantly bear the burden of misrepresentations such as the gloomy, frightening article in the paper.
Suzi Morris, Baltimore
The writer is manager of international relations for Africa at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
MCEA is paying a price for losing competitive edge
Your article "Md. workers group fights for its life" (Feb 21) regarding the Maryland Classified Employees Association and state employees was excellent.
Perhaps the real gist of the matter is this: Our world is one of constant change, sometimes quite rapid. Any company not keeping abreast of that change may find itself frozen out of the marketplace. MCEA members can only fault their own leadership. Don't blame the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees or the state.
Progress doesn't come unless you work for it. For those who chose to join AFSCME and work for change that benefits state employees, it's only fair that those who reap the benefits of AFSCME's work pay a fee if they elect not to participate. Would they rather have a two-tier system of wages and benefits for union vs. nonunion employees instead?
Give MCEA credit for its accomplishments in the past. But at the same time, if it goes out of business, so be it. That is the price a business pays for no longer being competitive or effective.
Daniel E. Withey, Sykesville
To our readers
The Sun welcomes letters from readers. They should be no longer than 200 words and should include the name and address of the writer, along with day and evening telephone numbers.
Send letters to Letters to the Editor, The Sun, P.O. Box 1377, Baltimore 21278-0001. Our fax number for letters is 410-332-6977. The e-mail address is letters@baltsun.com.
All letters are subject to editing.
Pub Date: 3/03/99