Letters: Sep. 25, 2006

• Share

(2 of 4)

The Toughness Test

"The End Of Invincibility" [Sept. 4] illustrated the difficulty of achieving peace in the Middle East. Once again a leader has failed the toughness test, and his people are ready to make him pay a political price. But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert cannot destroy Hizballah any more than President George W. Bush can destroy all terrorists. Here in the U.S. we criticize the President for leading us into a quagmire in Iraq, but if he had not responded to the 9/11 attacks as strongly as he did, perhaps we would have reacted like Israel's army reservists did and demanded that he step down. Peace in the Middle East will come only when each side develops the ability to empathize with its leaders as well as its hated enemies.

HWUN-YEE CHEN San Francisco

Your report referred to a Palestinian minister who took Israel to task for not recognizing Arabs as equals and for seeking military solutions instead of political ones. What political solutions did he have in mind? The Palestinians elected Hamas to lead them, and the heroes of the Lebanese are their Hizballah warlords. Both Hamas and Hizballah are loudly and proudly dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

STEVE DAVID Richboro, Pa.

Ripples of Change in China

Sorrow and rage grew in equal measure as I read Hannah Beech's unsettling account of the Chinese government's persecution of legal activist Chen Guangcheng [Sept. 4]. Disgust threatened to turn to despair. What hope is there for individuals like Chen, outgunned and outnumbered? But then I recalled the words that novelist Lu Xun wrote 85 years ago, at the end of his short story My Old Home: "Hope cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. It is just like roads across the earth. For actually the earth had no roads to begin with, but when many men pass one way, a road is made." A pebble cast in the water may seem insignificant, but it creates ripples. Some ripples become waves, and some waves become tsunamis.

PAUL LAI Longwood, Fla.

Cruelty on a Cracker

"Banned: Fine Food And Fun" [Sept. 4], which referred to Chicago's foie-gras ban as a "loopy law," was disturbingly glib. Foie-gras production is excruciating for geese and ducks, which are force-fed through a tube inserted into their throats. Those that do not prematurely die in the process of being overfed become grossly overweight, and they struggle to walk, stand up, even breathe. It is not Chicago's new law that is outrageous but the inhumane luxury it prohibits.

OWEN LUBOZYNSKI Minneapolis, Minn.

In mocking Chicago's newly enacted foie-gras ban, your writer insults not only the compassionate individuals who worked to pass this law but also the vast majority of U.S. citizens--nearly 80% of whom, according to a Zogby poll, support an end to foie-gras production. More than a dozen countries and the state of California have passed laws prohibiting this cruel practice. Far from being frivolous, Chicago's law codifies the humane values that we as a society purport to believe in.

GENE BAUSTON PRESIDENT, FARM SANCTUARY Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Too Much Homework?