Letters to the Editor | Oct. 11, 2024

Abraham Gutman’s front-page story on the Phillies and father-child relationships brought a tear to my eye. One week after opening day 2024, my sister, brother, and I lost our parents in a house fire. Dad was proudly from Swampoodle, growing up at 24th and Lehigh in the shadow of Connie Mack Stadium. Baseball was his first love, and one of his favorite childhood players was Gus Zernial. He was 14 when the 1964 Phillies collapsed. But his greatest memory of that season took place on June 4, when he watched Sandy Koufax pitch a no-hitter at Connie Mack.

Fast-forward to October 2010. Dad and I were enjoying our pregame ritual at Citizens Bank Park: eating sausage and peppers and enjoying a draft Guinness behind Section 117. Typically, we watched the first two innings against the ledge before departing for our seats in the 300 level. At the end of the second inning of Game 1 of the National League Division Series, he said to me, “We are staying right here.” He was so serious. And I looked at him and asked, “Why?” “I’ve only seen one other pitcher throw the way Roy Halladay is pitching right now. It was Koufax in 1964.” We all know the history that happened that October night, and I have always loved that not only did Dad call Halladay’s no-hitter, but we stood the whole game, never giving up our perch until the final out. Dad laughed heartily, a belly laugh that only came out when he was truly delighted.

Red October was bittersweet this year. But it was, as always, a wonderful reminder of the powerful love language between fathers, children, and baseball. I will always be grateful that I shared that love language with him. And even as the season ends, I will proudly wave my rally towel for our beloved Phillies, even if I have to use it to wipe away the occasional tears.

Meg Kane, Philadelphia

At the tender age of 69, I finally was invited to participate in a political poll. I jumped at the opportunity. Here are a few takeaways. The questions seemed routine, but the options to answer were simplistic. Basic black-and-white choices with no room to elaborate. I guess that makes sense. Unlike real surveys, there was no effort to check for consistency or validity. Basically, I could say whatever I wanted, and it would be recorded as factual.

The one question that threw me was when I was asked to choose “What is the No. 1 issue for me in this election?” A list of 15 choices was reeled off rapidly. The top five seemed to be the typical talking points of Republican pundits. As a cognitive-trained specialist, I know most people don’t have the capacity to recall more than five items when a list is presented at a rapid pace. My top issue happens to be the preservation of democracy. When I told this to the interviewer, she responded that no one picks that. Given that it wasn’t included, I’ll take her word for it. So much for the validity of random polls.

Art Friedman, Lafayette Hill, art@truenortheducation.org

The importance of character in leadership is clearest when it’s absent, especially in times of crisis. If it sounds old-fashioned, so be it. As a Christian minister, I’m comfortable advocating sincerity in a cynical age. Time and again, when catastrophe has hit, Donald Trump has responded with pettiness rather than greatness. In times of disaster, we need leaders to be steady, trustworthy, and humane. Instead, Trump sows conflict, confusion, and chaos. It’s inexcusable for him to try to use disasters to score political points by spreading lies about relief efforts. He’s now sowing paranoia about diverted Federal Emergency Management Agency funds hampering the Hurricane Helene response (somehow immigrants are always to blame), among other lies.

During his presidency, Trump responded to fires, storms, and pandemics with pettiness and partisanship. I remember my distress in realizing that he, as president, wasn’t patriotic enough to put aside his ego to be the leader needed for the greater good. Callous to the needs of those in Democratic districts, he held up emergency relief to California and Puerto Rico. Christianity teaches that leaders must be nondiscriminating servants. Trump is the opposite. It would be a disaster to have him in charge again.

The Rev. Nathaniel Mahlberg, Philadelphia

. . .

Only a man as blatantly craven and compassionless as Donald Trump would try to exploit a devastating natural disaster like Hurricane Helene for his own political self-interest. Trump called FEMA’s response to the storm as being “the worst in U.S. history.” This is wrong, and it amply illustrates that this man will say absolutely anything, however false and however dangerous, if he thinks it will personally benefit him. The president is supposed to be a person whose mission is to protect and promote the safety and well-being of all of us, not a man who always puts himself first, his party second, and us, the American people, a distant third. Trump, time after time, has shown us his true self, and it reveals an ugly and disturbing portrait of a very deeply and fundamentally flawed human being. This man cannot and must not be returned to the White House, lest he irreparably damages our country in a manner that could harm us for generations to come.

Ken Derow, Swarthmore

Recently, Gov. Josh Shapiro was photographed signing a bomb at a plant in Lackawanna County alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, smiling as he added his mark to the munition. Shapiro has been roundly condemned for his bomb-signing stunt by the political right, which is critical of U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine. But as a Quaker and progressive faith leader in Philly, I, too, am horrified by this callous display. Shapiro’s dismissive attitude about the taking of life in war is morally repugnant, and by engaging in this glorification of the violent tools of war, he shows that he is out of step with the true needs of Pennsylvanians.

The governor’s decision to send a weapon of war into battle with his signature strikes a sour note within many faith communities and especially among Quakers, where we are deeply committed to the idea of the light of God in each person, that every human being deserves dignity, and that war does not bring lasting solutions to conflict. Beyond the obvious insensitivity of Shapiro’s sign-off on more war casualties, it’s important to note the impact this culture of gleeful militarism has had on Pennsylvania communities.

Faith leaders in our community toil tirelessly for justice and for human rights: access to health care and affordable housing, reparations through a faith-based campaign and a city task force, and education equity. Unfortunately, federal taxpayer dollars that should be driving progress in these areas are often funneled into bombs, bullets, and an expansive military presence around the world. The horrors of the wars in Ukraine, in Gaza, and elsewhere must end — but efforts toward peace are made exponentially more difficult when a leader like Shapiro dilutes the horrors in gleeful photo ops.

Lucy Duncan, member, Green Street Friends (Quaker) Meeting, codirector, reparationWorks, and coordinator, Rise up for Reparations Campaign

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