Letters to the Editor | March 24, 2024

The front-page article on Philly’s population decline during the COVID-19 pandemic was fact-based and insightful. The rationale for why the population decreased included some interesting hypotheses — including young people taking advantage of low interest rates to buy homes, telecommuting, and remote work — but notably left out two critical facts: high taxes and high crime. During the pandemic, Philadelphia had the second-highest tax burden in the country (Bridgeport, Conn., was first), and Philadelphians experienced a record number of homicides. So, perhaps the lure of working from home instead of a downtown office motivated some people to move out of Philadelphia, but saving hard-earned money by paying lower taxes and feeling safer by not risking ending up as a violent crime victim surely contributed.

Fred Walker, Wyndmoor

During this Christian season of reflection and confession, I would like to apologize to the wider community on behalf of Christians for failing to get our message out about love. We have not been clear enough that our faith does not support the hatred and rejection of any group of people, be they migrants, members of the LGBT community, people of color, or people of other faiths and traditions. Some Christians seem to believe that their Bible and God support the resentment and rejection of certain groups of people. Didn’t they notice that Jesus said the greatest commandment is love? If we really got that, we would easily recognize Christian nationalism as a hate movement, and it would get no foothold.

We who are pastors and spiritual leaders have not made it clear enough that hate is a soul sickness that takes us away from grace, and away from God. As leaders, we have often shied away from caring for or defending vulnerable communities, putting Jesus on the cross all over again. Sometimes we failed because we succumbed to the idea that some people are less deserving, or we hated to see the culture wars tear up our congregations, or we worried about our own job security. I confess to all of these. This failure of Christian churches and leaders to lift the message of love makes me feel sick, but I know that true repentance is more than feeling bad about something. It means getting up and doing something about it; making the effort to make change. To those we have failed, I know that this apology is not enough. We can only show that we mean it by our actions.

The Rev. Catherine Bowers, Downingtown

I very much enjoyed John Cole’s editorial cartoon in Tuesday’s Inquirer about the climate change proposals by Gov. Josh Shapiro. The cartoon depicted Shapiro attempting to plug a three-prong, grounded plug, representing his proposals — dubbed PACER and PRESS — into dated, two-prong outlets representing political and special interests. While the cartoon correctly depicts the challenges the governor faces in passing his proposals, it also correctly depicts the obstacles that will stand in the way as outdated remnants from the last century.

The proposals are not for the benefit of politicians or special interests, but for Pennsylvanians for whom the programs will be of great benefit. The PACER program forces polluting companies to pay for their carbon emissions and returns the proceeds to Pennsylvania consumers as electric bill rebates. The PRESS program encourages renewable energy production in the state, brings renewable energy jobs, and saves ratepayers on energy costs. Rather than letting special interests have their way, residents should lend their support to these programs to keep Pennsylvania competitive in an ever-evolving energy environment and to encourage the development of cheaper, cleaner, and more sustainable energy.

Mark Engleka, Havertown

March 29 was chosen as National Vietnam War Veterans Day because on that date in 1973, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam was disbanded, and the last U.S. combat troops departed. More than 2.7 million Americans served in uniform in Vietnam, and 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the war. The conflict killed 58,220 American soldiers and wounded 153,303 more. Another 1,643 were declared missing in action. North Vietnam lost 1.1 million soldiers, while 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died. Both sides lost more than two million civilians.

Studies have found a high incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder among Vietnam veterans. Even decades after the war, there are still approximately a quarter of a million Vietnam veterans who are suffering from PTSD. Sadly, they average 37,000 suicides every year. The Vietnam veterans were treated with disdain and were essentially shunned once they returned home from the war. The veterans were seemingly blamed for what had happened in Vietnam until 1982, when the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was erected in Washington, D.C.

Dave Savage, U.S. Navy, former lieutenant junior grade, active duty 1968-1970, Collingswood

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