Why slavery apology needed?

I have always been puzzled by the suggestion that the president and Congress should officially apologize "to the descendents of slaves whose ancestors were held under the sanction and imprimatur of previous governments of the United States," as suggested by Clarence B. Jones ("In honor of King, apologize for slavery," @issue, April 4).

Was it not a previous government that called up millions of young men to fight and die to end slavery? Were there not hundreds of thousands of women who lost husbands, sons and fathers in a war to free these slaves? As far as I know, I do not have any ancestors who were slaves or who owned slaves. I do, however, have ancestors who fought and died on both sides in the Civil War.

Don't get me wrong. If such a pronouncement as Jones suggests would help us to put this behind us as a country, then by all means do it. However, perhaps someone who represents the "black conscience" of America should also issue a proclamation of acclamation for the government that ended slavery in our country and for those who died in that effort. The greatest tribute any of us can pay to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is to live each day determined to put race-based hate behind us.

GRANT ESSEX

Milton

High-speed rail, not airport, is magnet now

To listen to Gov. Sonny Perdue and Atlanta leaders, you would think Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport's status as the world's busiest airport with new nonstop flights to Shanghai marks Georgia's coming of age.

Hello, people! None of the world's largest cities, even here in the United States, is thinking about airports anymore. The impetus is on high-speed rail between cities and commuter rail to serve as main attractions.

Without realizing it, Georgia has revealed a mentality trapped in a time zone. It is time for state leaders and metro Atlanta to get with the program and focus on passenger rail to be truly competitive with the rest of the world.

VINNIE KELLY

Lithonia

Our energy policies are swamping us

Thank you for the piece "The rising cost of food," which ties spiraling increases directly to the nation's insane energy policy, and particularly to the alcohol-from-corn scam, which will enrich agribusiness giants but swiftly bankrupt the elderly on fixed incomes and crimp the entire economy (Page One, April 7).

I say "insane energy policy" because ours is a petroleum- and natural-gas-based economy. We use those two commodities for virtually all transportation of people, shipment of raw materials and finished goods, heating of the majority of our homes, manufacture of most plastics and other petrochemicals, and as lubricants in virtually every manufacturing process. To restrict the domestic production and refinement of oil and natural gas while we antagonize Middle East producers, and before we have demonstrated that we can produce substitute sources of energy in needed quantities and at low cost, is to commit national suicide.

FRANK CONNER

Newnan

Require personal finance course

Instead of rescuing the irresponsible from the mortgage crisis, Congress should determine the amount dedicated to a bailout and instead use those funds to create a course on personal finance at every high school in the nation. That course should be a requirement for a diploma.

This proposal would do little about the current crisis, would not buy any politician votes, but at least responsible citizens could feel our money was going toward a quality, long-term investment and not toward another entitlement to the foolish.

ROBERT S. SIEGEL

Marietta