Letters to the Editor | Oct. 5, 2022

I attended the grand opening of the Philadelphia Orchestra on Sept. 28, as I have done many years before. My earliest contact with the orchestra was under the leadership of Eugene Ormandy. Every time I attended an opening, the very first piece the orchestra played was our national anthem, and it was always glorious. Although the orchestra was fantastic, Yannick Nézet-Séguin was brilliant, Lang Lang was mesmerizing, and BalletX was thrilling, the concert missed a very important point: giving respect, tradition, and unity to our orchestra and the patrons who support it.

Are we now in a cancel culture mindset for our national anthem? I have witnessed school boards eliminating history books as they are inappropriate for school children. The Christopher Columbus statue had to be closed for protection because people felt that the 15th-century morality of the explorer failed to comport with today’s standards (as if the morality of many of our 19th-century leaders was any better, in the way they slaughtered the Native Americans and stole their property). I would like to think that, with each generation, we grow in understanding, love, and respect for human dignity. We can’t judge yesteryears by today’s standards, but we can learn from the behavior of the past and not repeat what was ugly, grotesque, and harmful.

Our orchestra is a beautiful vestige of unity. It encompasses any religion, any ethnicity, any gender, any origin of birth, and any political beliefs for the purpose of following the maestro and presenting magnificent music from around the world. There should be no “cancel culture” in the orchestra. It was created under the benefit of our democracy and supported by the federal government, and it should always follow tradition and pay respect by opening the season with the playing of the national anthem. This was a terrible mistake, and it should be rectified immediately.

Barbara Vetri, Philadelphia

I greatly enjoyed Dave Caldwell’s story (Oct. 2) about Sean Murphy, “Fishtown’s ace.” It brought back memories.

You do not have to live in Fishtown to remember that ball field. I played about a half-dozen softball games there in the 1950s. We were the “visiting team.” Believe me, no one who ever played a game there ever forgot that “cinder field.” Never.

And although I did not know Murphy, his story brings back memories of Hank Gathers — and a string of unfortunate Philadelphia high school football players. Let’s not forget them, either.

Gerard J. St. John, Drexel Hill

Pennsylvania Senate Bill 907 is an ill-advised effort to create an “Animal Welfare Board” to review existing laws related to animals and make recommendations for changes. It is designed to appear to advance animals’ interests, but the proposed board is stocked with representatives of commercial dog breeders and agricultural interests — industries that profit by keeping animal care standards low. The actual goals of the board appear to be to ensure that protections for animals are delayed or denied and current laws are revisited and weakened. Tell your state senator not to let the foxes run the henhouse.

Penny C. Ellison, cochair of the board, Pennsylvania SPCA, and adjunct professor teaching animal law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Berwyn

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