To the Editor:
I was deeply moved by “What Is the ‘Spirit of Liberty’ Today?,” by Bret Stephens (column, July 1).
I am, by good fortune, a third-generation American who remembers well that my grandparents salvaged little and gained much when they escaped growing tyranny in 1920s Eastern Europe.
There were dark days then as there are dark times now. Democracy was under threat then as it is, shockingly, now. Mr. Stephens’s words gave me much needed reason to believe that we the people are, still, the masters of our own destiny.
David Rodman
Boulder, Colo.
To the Editor:
Reading this beautifully written column has made me feel depressed. The president and his sycophants represent everything that goes against what Bret Stephens has so eloquently expressed about our nation as we prepare to celebrate this special anniversary on July 4.
Robert D. Diamant
Staten Island
To the Editor:
Bret Stephens has written one of the most concise and sorely needed essays for these times. It eloquently summarizes the ideals, values and ambitions that have inspired all Americans, native born and immigrants, that have been at the heart of my love for this country, the home of my birth but not of my ancestors.
Now in my mid-70s, I have learned that tolerance and respect for all people who make up our country are the best practices for contributing to the worthy goals Mr. Stephens has enumerated.
Jon E. Siiteri
Sacramento
To the Editor:
Re “Reflections on an Imperfect America at 250” (letters, June 30):
I remember when America, sailing ships and nations from around the world stood tall together.
I was 8 and my little brother 6 when our parents took us to see the tall ships arrive in New York in July 1976, as part of Operation Sail to celebrate America’s 200th birthday.
I’ll never forget sitting on the banks of the Hudson River with our toes in the water as we watched schooners and square-rigged ships from around the world sail out of the history books (and my bedroom filled with Horatio Hornblower novels) and into New York to honor the bicentennial.
This July, I choose to remember the summer of 1976, the tall ships and the feeling of international friendship and even joy we felt in that bygone era.
I still love this imperfect country.
Sean Carpenter
Fort Collins, Colo.
Teach Kids (and Parents) How to Eat Better
To the Editor:
Re “The Deck Is Stacked Against Healthy Eating,” by Jessica Grose (Opinion, June 19):
It is good to see that the risks associated with consuming an abundance of ultraprocessed food have achieved front and center stage. It is one of the rare topics in the field of nutrition that have achieved near universal consensus.
Multiple approaches have been introduced to encourage a shift from ultraprocessed to minimally processed food, although their success to date has been minimal.
One option that has failed to gain traction but that has the potential to yield long-term benefits is instituting mandatory food and nutrition education, at age-appropriate levels, from grades K through 12.
We know that the current environment makes it difficult to make healthy choices. Why not create a generation that can at a minimum identify ultraprocessed from minimally processed food?
Alice H. Lichtenstein
Boston
The writer is a professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University.
To the Editor:
Jessica Grose’s essay about ultraprocessed foods and the way they are marketed as tobacco was, and still is, hits all the important points.
As a pediatrician for more than 40 years, I have always believed that the only way we can change eating choices away from addictive sugar and salt is by focusing on prenatal care.
Teaching parents that their own eating habits may, in the long term, harm their babies and helping them learn how to make healthier choices has to be a major part of this work.
Barbara Gold
Philadelphia
