Letters: Anthem is way bigger than race & politics

RE THE April 22 letter from B. Parrish concerning people who don't stand for the national anthem during sporting events:

I've been to many, many games and have seen people not stand during the anthem. That is simply ignorance, unless you're unable to stand. And if you can't stand, you should sit properly (not like you're lounging on the couch at home) and be silent. How about removing your hats, is that too much to ask?

I'm sure, Mr. Parrish, you'd stand and cheer and show your respect to those rappers who drop the "f-bomb" every two seconds and tell our children it's cool to rape, kill and do God knows what else. Why don't you show some respect for the people who made it so you can live as you do today?

You write, "The most liberal white guys resent black men who have pride and material success." Are you kidding? How many race cards do you have in that hand?

The national anthem has nothing to do with the government, it is to honor those who fought and died for our freedom, and everything we take for granted in this country. When I see anyone - black, white or green - not standing in reverent silence during the anthem, it infuriates me. If an "uppity Negro" (your own words) wants to protest the government, then protest the president. Oh, wait, I forgot for a second who the president is, so that won't happen.

If you'd served this country or were close to anyone who did and died for it, you'd understand this a bit better.

Next time you want to analyze something, please pull your head out of your rear end first.

Janet Wojnarowski

Philadelphia

The real meaning of TMI

In his far-ranging column on U.S. energy policy, Stu Bykofsky repeated a well-used notion that nobody died as a result of the Three Mile Island accident. As the executive secretary of the TMI Public Health Fund Scientific Advisory Board - overseen by the federal court in Harrisburg - I managed the funding effort that paid for a variety of radiation health studies about the accident.

Using Mr. Bykofsky's level of generality, I think the appropriate language would be that TMI had no immediate accident-related deaths, but the issue of long-term death and health effects remains open. Some authors believe that evidence supports excess deaths in the 20 years after the accident while others don't find this cause and effect.

In any case, I don't think the health experience of the TMI population is a recommendation for nuclear power as a source of energy. It is at best a cautionary event. In the European Union, a significant proportion of electricity is produced by nukes - but the national policies of the member states have three critical aspects missing in the U.S.:

1. Renewable spending - Euro by Euro matches for nuke spending.

2. A strong and growing carbon-cap program.

3. A centralized system of both reactor design and control by the national government.

Dr. Jon Berger, Philadelphia