May 17 Letters to the editor

Apology for bombings is critical in many ways

Re: the May 15 column “Should America apologize for Hiroshima?”

When is the targeting and bombing of a civilian population not a human rights crime? How can acknowledging remorse and culpability for such a colossal loss of human life, let alone the lives of noncombatants, be construed as inappropriate? How can we say “never again” with integrity without apologizing for our bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Expressing regret is not a platitude; rather, it is a critical part of a healing process — ours.

John Heid

West side

Reaction to millennials’ shift to socialism dated

Re: the May 15 column “Fathoming millennials’ romanticization of socialism.”

Jonah Goldberg’s rambling op-ed piece dismissing millennials’ favorable view of socialism reveals a dated bias. He accuses socialists of longing for “tribal brotherhood and mutual love.” Oh, the horror! His own pro-market argument centers on the destructive and brutal results of Marxism in the former Soviet Union. What?

Millennials aren’t thinking of last-century Marxists/Leninists. They are more likely to see Finland, Sweden, Denmark and even Canada as contemporary models of democratic socialism. None of these countries are repressive regimes, nor are their citizens distressing over poorly paid teachers, lack of health care or a sinking middle class. I hope Goldberg will update his thinking to encompass this current reality:

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“Democratic socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically — to meet public needs, not to make profits for a few.” (dsausa.org). I’m far from being a millennial, but I applaud their thinking about modern democratic socialism.

Justine Robbins

Northwest side

Lack of plan for difficult kids affects whole class

Re: the May 15 letter “Pay is not the real issue behind teachers leaving.”

As a former colleague of the letter writer, I totally agree with her assessment about why teachers are leaving the classroom. It is frustrating to have eager and ambitious students show up early or stay late for extra help only to be called away for a meeting concerning a student who is disruptive and disrespectful. During one school year I was having an unusual number of these types of students transferred into my classroom during mid-semester. When I asked “why” I was told, “Because you do the difficult students so well.”

Unless the educational system can devise an alternative plan to deal with students who are having multiple issues at home and bringing them into the classroom, teachers will continue to leave the profession. After over 20 years of taking care of the difficult students, I retired. The eager, ambitious and average students suffer the most when they can’t get the help they need.

Jeff Krause

North side