Readers sound off on information literacy, Mets’ mama and spying

Our underlying condition is petulant ignorance

Levittown, L.I.: Re Mark Ustin’s “The return of public health law” (op-ed, Feb. 3): We have lost more American lives to COVID-19 than we did to the Civil War and World War II combined. I look with great disquiet towards the prospect of some future pandemic.

So long as we continue to be a nation of undisciplined, bratty and selfish toddlers in the bodies of adults, we are at risk. So long as there are millions of Americans who think their infantile personal feelings, irrational beliefs, uninformed opinions and over-the-top conspiracy theories are more true, real and meaningful than facts, figures, data, statistics, historical documentation and scientific evidence, we are in peril.

We need to educate the public. In doing so, however, we need to understand how we reached this level of scientific and historical illiteracy in the first place. In 1971, I was 10 years old. I knew from science books, encyclopedias and health class about epidemics, vaccines, face masks and quarantines. I knew that public health laws were not some sinister plot or conspiracy to destroy the Constitution. I even knew less than 30 years earlier, the president of the United States had been suffering from polio and was confined to a wheelchair.

Why was a 10-year-old in 1971 better informed about public health care than many adults half a century later? Paul Manton

Armed and dangerous

Rockaway Park: I find it interesting that anti-abortion politicians find it important not to allow an unborn fetus to be eliminated but feel it is fine for a fully grown, active human being to be killed by being shot with a gun! It used to be very difficult to be able to own a gun decades ago — even a store owner would not be able to own one to protect his store unless he could document an incident when he was threatened there. I think this universal gun ownership in America is detrimental to our standing in the world. If I were living in another country and wanted to take a vacation abroad, I would not pick America as a destination because I would be afraid of being wounded or killed by some stranger for no reason. Ruth Graves

Name correction

Forest Hills: In your Saturday paper, you ran an article about the brutal cold and the effect it had on outdoor workers (“Hit by icy blast,” Feb. 4). One of those workers you interviewed was an Amazon deliveryman. Unfortunately, you misspelled his name. It is Tsvi Weil. I appreciate your noting this correction. After all, how often does someone get his name in the Daily News!? Signed, his proud father. Gary Weil

Harmless chatter

Brooklyn: Eugene Noh’s colorful comments (“Councilwoman’s hub hyped up for victory,” Feb. 5) are just that. We’re wasting too much time on nonsense. We should be concentrating on real issues like the economy and homelessness. Vito Labella

Living on the edge

Manhattan: Do you know that if a senior citizen gets one crumb more than they are allowed, they get a notice that their Medicaid will shut off, just like that? Meanwhile, they have serious medical issues and are on medications as well, and their SNAP will go from $281 to $16 a month. It’s so mean and evil-spirited to do to anyone — seniors, mothers on WIC and disabled people. They pay rent and bills like the next guy. People on SSI will end up homeless in the end, along with people on public assistance. People who set the rules are so medieval, so callous, as they go up that ladder of life-ruining power. On the way down, may they face the same music to see how it feels to be hurt in the SNAP/Medicaid shuffle. Helen M. Murphy

An air of impunity

Brooklyn: Sadly, we now see another young officer shot (“Off-duty cop shot and critically wounded,” Feb. 5). But I don’t think that mattered to the person who shot him. We have seen and felt the repercussions of what seems to be a lack of accountability when laws are violated. People are afraid to ride the subway and walk the streets. It is not only the police who are under siege but also the public that they are sworn to protect. How frustrating it is to see five bullies in Tennessee take the law into their own hands. A sixth officer also tried to jump into the mix by making a nasty statement. How ignorant were they? Let us now look to imploring the politicians to change the laws. Make those who break them accountable for what they do. Those who bully others should be made accountable for their actions. Sharon Cesario

True lies

Jackson Heights: Just wondering if pathological liar George Santos declares that he will continue to lie, does that mean he will actually begin to tell the truth? Clifford Scharff

Verboten verbosity

Rosedale: I’m sure I read Harry Siegel’s column right after the New Year (“Some resolutions for this year’s new revolution,” Jan. 1) when he resolved to no longer write in long, run-on sentences. Just checking, Harry — when exactly is that supposed to start? Shirley Jordan

Mets matriarch

East Meadow, L.I.: Voicer Luana Dunn made some valid points in favor of inducting George Steinbrenner into the Baseball Hall of Fame as an owner. In addition, I wholeheartedly believe that Joan Whitney Payson deserves to be inducted. When the Giants board voted to move the team to San Francisco after the 1957 season, Payson, a minority owner, was the lone vote against moving. She divested herself from the team and began the process of bringing National League baseball back to New York. She became the first woman in all of professional sports to own a franchise without inheriting it by using her own money to found the New York Mets, which she owned from their inception until her death in 1975. She was admired by fellow owners and beloved by Mets players and fans. The fact that she is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame is ridiculous. Richard Skibins

‘Midnight Cowboy’

Woodstock, N.Y.: I will probably not be the first nor the only person to point out the mistake in the Sunday funnies “The Argyle Sweater” strip, but it was not Al Pacino, but rather Dustin Hoffman, who was “walkin’ here!” Suzanne Hayes Kelly

Act of protest

Massapequa, L.I.: As a Vietnam veteran, I am asking Americans not to see the movie “80 for Brady,” one of the cast is the traitor Fonda — I won’t even use her first name. She went to Hanoi to visit North Vietnamese troops during the war, sat on one of their guns and betrayed our POWs. Let the movie fail. Let her know that we still remember her disgraceful act. Ron Boehning

What’s the damage?

Bellerose: Finally, China’s spy balloon was shot down by two U.S. F-22 fighter jets on Saturday. The spy balloon went down off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C. My question is how much security information vital to our nation was gathered by it? As reported, President Biden and his team knew about this balloon for about a week and kept it a secret from the American people and did nothing. I served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and believe our military back then would have shot it down to protect our military personnel and the American people. This balloon had traveled across from Alaska to South Carolina and the information potentially gathered, I believe, puts our entire nation in jeopardy. This should not have been allowed to happen! Frederick R. Bedell Jr.

Much ado about nothing

Brooklyn: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has the liquor license of a venue revoked because it featured drag queens in a kids’ Christmas show. Next up is Disney, which ran afoul of DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” law. If only DeSantis would work with the same energy to fix the issue of the teacher shortage and the imploding homeowner insurance mess that is costing home-owning Floridians more money due to companies closing up shop. Anthony Delgado

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