Letters to the Editor | Nov. 3, 2023

The Philadelphia Eagles currently top the NFC East and lead the league in wins. Not bad for a team that turned 90 this year. This anniversary has me thinking about the legacy of one of football’s oldest franchises. Let’s gloss over some of our checkered history (no need to mention the 1943 one-season “Steagles,” the snowballs for Santa, the torn goal posts, or the need for an “Eagles Court”) and focus on three things: Bert Bell, family, and the opposite of winning.

Bert Bell: The man who wanted a team for all of Philadelphia, not just for Frankford. Through a decade of trials and tribulations, Bell never gave up on that dream. At a time in Philadelphia when you couldn’t sell an Eagles ticket, Bell would not surrender his vision for the Eagles. Today, we’d book him on Shark Tank.

Family: The Eagles and Philadelphia are family, and families share their stories together. What would gatherings be like without hearing animated retellings that made you feel you were there? There for the almost-dynasty of the 1940s, for a 1948 championship won in the snow, for the last of the 60-minute men who stopped a final drive to prevent Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers from taking the 1960 championship, for a 2018 New England rematch for the ages.

Losing: Aside from the 1960 championship season, for nearly 15 years after their founding, and from 1950 to 1977, the Eagles were basically, well, not very good. But they were our not very good. Perennial underdogs that captured the Philly spirit of giving it one more try until you make it. Bell passed away during a game in 1959 at Franklin Field. One year later, the Eagles won the championship.

So what is the real legacy of the Philadelphia Eagles? You can get us down, but we’re never out.

Michael Thomas Leibrandt, Abington

Let me start out by saying that I am 84 and live in Somerton. I totally disagree with the letter writer who asked that employers hire seniors for seasonal work. Hiring older people is doing a great disservice to the young. Even though part-time holiday jobs may not be career positions, they at least give a young person something to put on their résumé as well as a few dollars in their pockets. Despite what we hear in the media, jobs are not that easy to find for young people. Take my grandchildren. I have five, between 20 and 25. The older three are boys and the younger two are girls. The boys have all graduated from college, and every job application they fill out wants work experience. Only one of them has found a job. The older girl is still in college, but the younger one has dropped out. Unless they desperately need the money, someone past retirement age should stay out of the workforce and give those in their teens and 20s a chance to get started.

Ronni Flitter, Philadelphia

“Every war is a war against children.” Save the Children founder Eglantyne Jebb spoke these words 100 years ago, and they are truer than ever regarding the war in Gaza, where the population is among the youngest in the world. Nearly half (47.3%) of Gazans are under 18. This is because many Palestinians simply don’t get the chance to grow old — dying in their early adulthood either in conflicts or due to a struggling health-care system. They die in conflicts because Palestine and Israel are locked into a seemingly endless spiral of violence. They die from lack of health care because Israel’s 16-year blockade has obstructed access to medical care and supplies. I worked as a child advocate for decades. Because I worked to improve the lives and life chances of youth, and because I am a Jewish American, I am compelled to demand the U.S. use its outsized influence with Israel to see that an immediate cease-fire and delivery of humanitarian aid is carried out.

Deborah Zubow, Philadelphia

Rebecca Alvarez’s recent op-ed piece is filled with inaccuracies. First, she defines Zionism as “the agenda of the Israeli government which differs from the religion of Judaism,” when Zionism is the movement for the self-determination of the Jewish people, including having their own homeland. Judaism has always been more than a religion, encompassing Jewish peoplehood and identity. She goes on to excoriate Israel for its “war on the Palestinians” since its founding in 1948. The truth is that the Palestinians have been offered their own state repeatedly and they have refused, as they have been unwilling to tolerate the presence of any Jewish state.

Instead of working for the betterment of their own people, Palestinian militant groups have launched unrelenting terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, culminating in the recent barbaric slaughter in southern Israel. The author devotes one sentence to stating that she does not “condone the taking of innocent life” (before proceeding to offer a justification for such heinous behavior). It’s nice to know that she does not condone the burning alive of whole families, the rape of teenage girls, and the decapitation of babies.

Richard Lowe, Oreland

The Inquirer’s 100th Mayor Newsletter missed an important point about automated speed cameras and Cherelle Parker’s interest in using them on other dangerous roads in Philadelphia. The current Roosevelt Boulevard automated speed enforcement program is a pilot program and is set to expire in December. We are thankful for Parker’s support of the program and her desire to expand it, but whether or not automated speed enforcement can continue or be expanded is not up to the Philadelphia Parking Authority or PennDot. It is in the hands of the state legislature. They must decide on whether they will pass a bill that expands the scope to other dangerous roads and makes the program permanent. Calming dangerous roads with automated speed enforcement to save lives can’t happen until legislators pass a bill that allows Philadelphia to do so.

Nicole Brunet, policy director, Bicycle Coalition for Greater Philadelphia, nicole@bicyclecoalition.org

Building a lower-carbon future means ensuring the success of the U.S. Department of Energy’s new Hydrogen Hubs. The hubs are networks of clean hydrogen producers, consumers, and connective infrastructure working together to kickstart the growth of a low-carbon hydrogen economy. Pennsylvania’s abundant natural gas and skilled workforce make it a prime location for hydrogen development, with the promise of economic growth and advancing shared climate goals.

A recent study found that if policies are implemented to support all types of hydrogen development, it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 37% through 2050 and inject billions of dollars into the economy through jobs. To unlock these benefits, we need to start building the necessary infrastructure now. Given a workforce of over 423,000 already supported by the natural gas and oil industry, Pennsylvania is ready to embrace this new energy opportunity.

With over half the proposed hubs using hydrogen produced from natural gas and carbon capture, this project will kickstart the next generation of energy development. Pennsylvania has a proud history of energy production and a wealth of potential for innovation. Let’s all work together to make hydrogen a cornerstone of our cleaner energy future.

Stephanie Catarino Wissman, executive director, American Petroleum Institute Pennsylvania, Harrisburg

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