Ralph Nader: Put the Health Professionals in Charge

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/opinion/letters/coronavirus-ralph-nader.html

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To the Editor:

In “A Plague of Willful Ignorance” (column, June 23), Paul Krugman excoriates “the bad leadership at the top,” meaning Donald Trump’s lethal delays, ego-obsessed actions and his bungling examples bringing out the worst behavior among his supporters and officeholding political loyalists around the country. But Mr. Krugman decried the situation without a demand and without giving readers the conclusion from his convictions.

Urgently, there must be a public and congressional call for President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to step aside and let professional public health specialists manage the federal effort against the Covid-19 pandemic. This will diminish the daily White House damage, confusion, fabrications and flight from responsibility inflicted on the American people.

Other places, like Taiwan, New Zealand, Thailand, British Columbia and Uruguay, put their health professionals in charge with results far superior to those of the United States.

Ralph NaderWashingtonThe writer is the consumer advocate and former presidential candidate.

To the Editor:

Re “The Ghost of Woodrow Wilson” (column, nytimes.com, June 30), about Princeton University’s removal of Wilson’s name from its School of Public and International Affairs:

I don’t generally agree with much of what Ross Douthat writes, but in this column there is a single point on which we do agree: Simply removing the names of slave dealers and white supremacists from our most storied institutions of higher education is tantamount to “keeping the inheritance, but repudiating the benefactor.”

To my alma mater, Princeton, and to all the other institutions of higher education contemplating this moment: Removing the name is the easier part. Much harder will be naming white supremacy and pursuing racial justice by relinquishing the assets, power and privilege — much of which was accumulated in the land of Indigenous peoples, on the backs of enslaved Black people, and through the continued disenfranchisement, marginalization and exploitation of Black, Indigenous, and poor and low-wealth people across this country.

Ultimately, that is what history and this moment demand.

Ricshawn Adkins RoaneGreat Falls, Va.

To the Editor:

In 1949 I became a citizen of the United States of America. I was 9 years old and came to this country with my mother after fleeing Nazi Germany in 1941.

I was invited to partake in the yearly “I Am an American Day” ceremonies in Central Park, a celebration to honor both native-born and newly naturalized citizens, with a special emphasis on those who had become American citizens in the preceding year.

I loved becoming an American. I loved all the people who stood beside me in a common voice of pride and patriotism as we recited the Pledge of Allegiance as one. I loved belonging to a country that included everybody, even me.

Most of all I loved the idea of trading in the telling document from my journey on the S.S. Mouzinho, issued in Hamburg, Germany, on Aug. 20, 1941, that described me as “Passenger #158, Hebrew,” for the promising new document issued by the Department of Justice, District of Columbia, U.S.A., on March 28, 1949, that described me as “Citizen 218974, brown hair, brown eyes, seventy pounds.”

What happened to my country? Today I find myself without the sense of hope and optimism that I experienced that day in Central Park, sadly replaced by a fear and pessimism that grow darker each day.

Judy BirkeNew Haven, Conn.

To the Editor:

Re “Resist Fear-Based Parenting,” by Miranda Featherstone (Op-Ed, June 27):

It is indeed important to instill confidence and independence in one’s child. But it is irresponsible for an adult to allow a 2-year-old to “trail behind” and every so often turn to watch him or her as Ms. Featherstone describes.

Anything can happen while you’re not looking. A very young child should be next to you or in front of you. Let the child turn back to see your approval as he or she ventures forth.

Diane OkrentNew York