The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Happy Days

5.27.03 @ 12:01AM

NOT SUCH A SMALL POINT
Re: Paul Beston's The Sands of J. Crew:

Paul Beston's article "The Sands of J. Crew" was excellent. I happens every year, and just yesterday it happened to me again in Macy's. At the conclusion of our transaction, the sales clerk said "have a happy holiday." Happy Memorial Day. What a concept.
-- Mary M
Pennsylvania

I agree that the Monday holiday simply becomes an extended weekend making it difficult to grasp what the event is for; all the days of commemoration need to be given a fixed date.

Also, I have already come to the conclusion that the birthdays of all the Presidents, not just Washington and Lincoln, should be made a day of commemoration (not a holiday) when the life, accomplishments, and administration of each President who is more than 10 years out of office should be studied and examined. Presidents' Day should be a day on which the office of the President of the United States as an institution is studied. Similar days could also be set aside for Congress and the courts.
-- R.D. Murphy
Imperial Beach, CA

I'm sorry but, while I'm sure Mr. Beston means well and is reputable, I am not equally sure about the source on which he draws. How do we know that John Colapinto actually wrote the piece called "The Young Hipublicans" that appeared in the New York Times on Sunday? Further, how do we know that whoever actually wrote the piece really went to Bucknell or that the folks named in the article are real people? How do we know that the NYT in its ongoing affirmative action activities isn't attempting to rehabilitate Jayson Blair by allowing him to ghostwrite for others?

We have been frequently, frequently burned by the NYT. Time and time again, it has published falsehoods and half-truths. How do we know that Mr. Beston hasn't been hoodwinked by yet another instance of NYT style journalism? It is, I believe, reasonable to expect the NYT to print some sort of statement of authenticity, some confirmation that the most basic standards of fact checking and certification have been used for everything they print. The old glib and untrue masthead representation is no longer believable or acceptable.

And, I fear, Mr. Beston has fallen to their low standards by not making such representations to his readers. We expect so much of from him than we do of the National Enquirer or the New York Times.
-- unsigned

Paul Beston's piece, which was excellent for its thought-provoking examination of 3-day weekends in general and the de-memorializing of Memorial Day in particular, contained what I consider a glaring flaw. He wrote: "This week, the New York Sun ran its final series of capsule obituaries of fallen American soldiers from the Iraq campaign. The paper puts the final tally of dead at 138, a number severe in human costs but infinitesimal from a military perspective."

Mr. Beston, from a military perspective that final tally feels more like 138,000.

From a military perspective, we lost 138 of our brothers and sisters--- all of us did. Just ask the squad leaders, platoon commanders, commanding officers, and generals and admirals. Even the reservists.

The military costs are the human costs. That is what Memorial Day is all about. That is what keeping faith with ones brothers and sisters is all about -- what being a member of the U.S. military is all about.

I think Mr. Beston is referring to a statistical perspective; based on his thoughtful treatment of Memorial Day, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt on this one...
-- Mark Stoffel
Arlington, VA

Paul Beston replies:
I think we are just quarreling about semantics. When I wrote "from a military perspective" I meant from a strategic, or to use Mr. Stoffel's term, a statistical standpoint. Most of us, going in, would consider 138 dead a miraculously low casualty count for the battle in Iraq, given what was entailed. None of which means we don't mourn those who were lost. But where death is concerned, we have to take solace wherever we can, in this case through the knowledge that things could have gone much worse.

UNDER THE BIG TRENT
Re: The Washington Prowler's Backlot Lott:

Senator Lott's infantile behavior makes me ill. There he goes, snipping at his President and undermining his majority leader. This is a Clintonesque attempt to re-invigorate this former leader's legacy most noted for its absence of leadership while saying, "This isn't about me." Yea, right.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Environment, Books, Law, Military, Iraq, Iran, NATO