Bergdahl is being made a scapegoat
The recent decision by the U.S. military to persecute Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl (“U.S. military charges Bergdahl with desertion,” News, March 26) is unjust and serves only to make a scapegoat of this soldier. The charges are unjust because unlike many of us, Bergdahl served his country on the battlefield. The actions and decisions Bergdahl is accused of while in the war zone are still suspect at best. War can have a devastating impact on the well-being and conscience of a soldier. His long suffering in captivity should be enough penalty for whatever his perceived wrong may be.
The persecution of this soldier serves only to make Bergdahl a scapegoat for a war that has gone undoubtedly wrong. The architects and instigators of the war have not clarified this conflict to neither the American people nor its soldiers. Sgt Bowe Bergdahl is certainly not the only thing wrong with this war.
COLLEN TOMLINSON, ATLANTA
What is transplant ‘non-compliance’?
One thing that seems to have been overlooked in the discussion about Anthony Stokes’ deserving of a heart transplant is the issue of compliance. Originally, the doctors denied him on the basis of “non-compliance.” It would be interesting to know what his experience had been. Did he take his meds on schedule? Did he go to medical appointments as scheduled? If he did indeed follow the required protocols, then the issue of rejecting him on past juvenile criminal behavior has a different slant.
ANNE TEDDLIE, DECATUR
Unfair to criticize business owners
Gracie Bonds Staples is one of my favorite AJC columnists because she usually writes stories of redemption. However, her column, “Indiana law is step back to 1960s” (Living, April 2) casts unfair, condemning aspersions on small-business owners who decline to provide services for same-sex ceremonies. She implies that they’re haters. But how can she know their heart? Unlike businesses that refused service to blacks in the 1960s, businesses today aren’t refusing to serve gays and lesbians; some are simply declining to participate in an event that violates their convictions.
Ms. Staples hopes Indiana Gov. Mike Pence was “speaking his conscience” when he backpedaled on his state’s new religious liberty law. But she criticizes bakers, florists and other businesspeople for speaking and living their conscience. Isn’t tolerance supposed to be a two-way street?
CHARLES D. EDEN, ATLANTA
Dublin teacher’s outburst out of line
Regarding “Teacher on job after Obama remark” (News, April 8), as a former teacher, I instinctively realized personal opinions on religion, politics or sex had to be avoided in the classroom. Add to that excessive detail on one’s personal life. This simple mandate should be a basic part of any teacher’s professional education, but it probably isn’t. Any teacher who strays from this (spoken or unspoken) mandate is unprofessional by nature and should not be in a classroom.
BOB EBERWEIN, ATLANTA
