America’s Crises: How to Respond?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/opinion/letters/racial-justice.html

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To the Editor:

Re “America Is Facing 5 Epic Crises at Once” (column, June 26):

David Brooks lists daunting societal challenges, from economic depression to the deadly virus. But none of these crises, he argues, is quite so threatening as the current “Social Justice” movement and its “symbolic gestures.”

Mr. Brooks draws a false dichotomy between symbolic work and structural change. The truth is, you can’t have one without the other. People who have studied the history of oppression understand the power of symbols.

How many social services were gutted after Ronald Reagan popularized the racist symbol of a “welfare queen”? How many Black children set their ambitions one notch higher when they saw a Black president in their textbooks?

Telling activists to forgo symbolic gestures is like telling a company that sales will go up if they stop advertising. It betrays a basic misunderstanding of what it takes to create political change.

When Mr. Brooks vilifies “Social Justice” activists, he erases the work that activists have done to enact both symbolic and structural change.

Kendall LaParoPhiladelphia

To the Editor:

I truly appreciate that David Brooks summarized the extent of the current turmoil in the United States. But he states that the Social Justice methodology is not a solution. I believe that he misses the greater point.

These cultural symbols that members of this movement point to, like the Confederate statues, have brought greater general awareness of the prevalence of prejudice around us.

Yes, we need legislation to change the roots of injustice. But that is a long and messy process with much uncertainty. Meanwhile, the actions that can be taken now are changing names of military bases, taking down statues and so on. It may be a small, but necessary, first step in beginning the significant work that lies ahead.

Linda KingsleyArlington, Va.

To the Editor:

I was surprised that David Brooks didn’t include climate change on his list of crises. As we look at our country’s recent failures, we shouldn’t forget the harm to our public health, economy and environment caused by failure to mitigate the climate crisis.

According to Mr. Brooks’s proposed theory of change, dealing with these crises will take “government” and “crafting coalitions” and “lawmaking.” When it comes to climate, the American public agrees with such a theory.

A recent poll by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications shows that most registered voters, including a majority of Democrats and Republicans, support climate-friendly energy policies. Let the congressional coalition-building begin!

Laura WinstonEvanston, Ill.The writer is co-leader of Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s Evanston chapter.

To the Editor:

David Brooks lays out where we are, how we got here and what we are facing. It is both terrifying and hopeful, and the clearest picture I have had of this awful, scary, so very sad time we live in.

It explains why I have shouted at my TV and cried. We have a lot of work to do.

Joan JudgeAustin, Texas