Praise for widow’s Personal Journey
The article “The Liberator’s Widow” (Living & Arts, Feb. 1, 2015) brought tears to my eyes. It was a wonderful thing for the widow Shirley Sessions to trace the footsteps of her late husband Eddie Sessions through parts of France and into Germany during World War II. Thank you, Kevin Riley, for bringing us details of this touching trip. I had several uncles who died in this war, so as an Army vet of more recent service, I have a special affinity for those who served and gave their lives in any of our wars. I am saddened that not only are we losing so many veterans of World War II and of subsequent wars, but that the youth of America little realizes just how many Americans served in this and other deadly wars.
This AJC article should be mandatory reading for all Georgia students. Unfortunately, many of our educators have a very left-leaning value system that would rather “reinterpret” history than honestly teach factual history.
ERNEST WADE, LOGANVILLE
Don’t surrender liberty for safety
There has been recent talk about government’s obligation to protect us from ISIS, global warming, measles, firearms and other perceived threats. Some call this obligation the first duty of government. Unfortunately, this is a straw man debate, constitutionally invalid. The founders vested responsibility in government to protect us from invasion by foreign powers, but defined the primary duty of government as the protection of our constitutional rights and liberties.
James Madison saw Europe’s “power granting liberty” as inferior to America’s “liberty granting power.” Current measures to make us safe only strip away layers of freedom. Too many people buy the lie when politicians dismiss this first duty and insist they know best. They need to be reminded that sacrificing liberty for safety guarantees tyranny. Washington needs to stop pretending to make us safe and work, instead, to guarantee our unalienable rights and liberties.
DENNIS E. MCGOWAN, SNELLVILLE
Everyone can help the environment
I write to commend Carlton Brown, president of Clark Atlanta University, for his heartening and timely article on the need for diversity in the environmental movement (“Adding color to green jobs,” Opinion, Jan. 31). We all need this young, well-educated generation to become leaders for the environment. Often, people of color and those struggling with poverty are those most affected by environmental degradation. I find the transportation bill proposed in the House far from perfect — I hope for a better bill — but I believe that somehow, public transportation must be addressed and funded. There is a need for people to get to employment sites using transit, which will also reduce carbon pollution in the air we breathe, whether we are rich or poor, black or white. This is critical for all of Georgia.
KATHERINE MITCHELL, ATLANTA
