Readers write

Editor’s note: More than two dozen readers wrote into the AJC to offer a variety of opinions about Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, anti-ICE protests and Georgia Congressman Buddy Carter’s call to bring more ICE resources into Atlanta. Read those letters at ajc.com/opinion.

More than safety is needed from driverless vehicles

I appreciated last week’s Gridlock Guy article on driverless vehicles and public safety (“Upset about Waymos? Georgia Tech professor says give them time”). It clearly presented the technical case that autonomous vehicles may reduce crashes and improve traffic efficiency.

But the article also reveals what is missing from much of this debate: how people understand safety in the context of their daily lives, their communities and their relationship to technology. Public unease is not simply about statistics. It is about trust, dignity and control.

Behavioral science reminds us that we make decisions with both the “rider” (our rational mind) and the “elephant” (our emotional and moral instincts). While companies speak to the rider with data and benchmarks, many Atlantans are speaking for the elephant when they ask, “Do I feel seen? Do I have a voice? Who is accountable when something goes wrong?”

In an era of economic insecurity, widening inequality and fragile democratic trust, perceived loss of control matters. A driverless car becomes a symbol of decisions made far from everyday life. If autonomous vehicles are to earn lasting public confidence, safety must include transparency, community engagement and visible accountability, not just improved software.

Innovation succeeds when people feel connected, respected, heard and protected.

JAY V. BASSETT, GWINNETT CHAPTER, CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY

President leads by intimidation and mockery

The signs of a good leader, one who can motivate and inspire people to follow a path of virtue and strength, are not in evidence in the White House. Instead, intimidation, lying, name-calling and mocking others are the current ploys used by President Donald Trump.

These are not behaviors or character traits we tolerate in our homes, workplaces or schools. Why is it then that the president of the U.S. is being allowed to behave this way? Are there not “checks and balances” in place in our federal government that would stop any one of the other branches from leading us down the path of destruction and isolation?

As a former teacher of U.S. history and also being old enough to remember “how it used to be,” in saner times, I am appalled by the behavior in the Oval Office. He marginalizes our immigrant population and says he ended eight wars, has the biggest crowds ever and is taking over Venezuela and Gaza, and now Greenland, “by force, if necessary.” These are the ravings of a madman.