In the future, The Post should avoid such strained attempts at equivalence. When it comes to issues such as LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, civil rights and voting rights, the two parties are still very far apart, with Democrats in support and Republicans in opposition.
An ironic display of partisanship
In “Can we still change each other’s minds?,” his Dec. 11 Book World review of Anand Giridharadas’s “The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy,” Nikil Saval provided an exemplar of the polarization and divisiveness that plague the United States, but not in the way he intended:
His long opening paragraph was an exceedingly partisan screed.
That was ironic, because the book review purported to suggest a path toward unity. And if it really was a book review, how about reviewing the book, rather than indulging the reviewer’s hyperpartisan political stance?
Collin Agee, Falls Church
Regarding the Dec. 14 front-page articles “FTX founder charged with criminal fraud” and “Capitol Hill scrambles for answers — and distance”:
I have no vested (or otherwise) interest in cryptocurrency and have no relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried. But I do have concern when The Post tells us what to think about a news item or personality. In both articles, the first line noted that Bankman-Fried is “disgraced.” Why not relay what he did and let the reader decide whether he has done something disgraceful or is disgraced?
I’ve spent four decades working with audio description, the spoken words used to make visual images accessible for people who are blind. We never refer to a person as “angry” (telling our listeners what to think); rather, we note that the person is grimacing, his teeth are clenched, etc. We show the listener what’s going on and let the listener decide whether the individual is “angry” within the context of other information.
Perhaps The Post can learn from audio description techniques. Show us what the news is; don’t tell us what to think about it.
More than a clunky war movie
Mark Jenkins whiffed in his Nov. 25 Weekend movie review of “Devotion,” “Stodgy Korean War aviator drama is slow getting up to speed.” Apparently, he assumed this was a just another “fighter-pilot drama” and a “clunky old war movie” with “only two major action sequences” that falters in his phantom comparison with “Top Gun: Maverick.” “Maverick” is an exciting fighter-pilot drama about a fantasy mission. “Devotion” is a real-life drama about achievement, determination and devotion that includes a real-life mission of “above and beyond” bravery in a real-life, brutal war.
President Harry S. Truman’s bold executive order 9981 issued in July 1948 directed the integration of the armed forces. This was a long and “slow-developing” process on both the macro and micro levels and receives appropriate investment of movie footage. The achievement and determination required to successfully transition from a sharecropper shack in Mississippi to the ready room of a combat squadron of naval aviators deserve praise; to accomplish that as a Black man in the ’40s justly deserves a book and a movie — and a more enlightened review.
But the real-life story continues with the development of a bond between men of different races that rises to the level of devotion (the clue is in the title) and, in this case, legend.
A lesser note, in the penultimate paragraph, Jenkins, perhaps unknowingly, disparaged the intensity of close-air-support missions. It might be a beneficial homework assignment to research the feelings of ground forces and aviators conducting those types of missions.
The writer is a naval aviator.
The Dec. 2 Weekend review of the movie “Holy Spider” described it as a “serial-killer thriller inspired by the true story” [Also Opening]. Recognizing that I might be ignorant of a technical difference between a thriller and a horror movie, I looked it up. NewDawnFilm.com provided this explanation: “A horror film wants to ‘horrify’ audiences whereas a thriller film only seeks to ‘thrill.’ With horror, the focus is on scaring people. They generally know there is a big evil present and the audience act as voyeurs to how these big evil haunts, destroys, or even kills the victims in an inevitable way.”
In my mind, the true story of the murder of 16 “prostitutes” is horrifying, certainly not thrilling. And to have The Post describe such horror as thrilling is, well, disturbing. On behalf of sex workers, murder victims and the viewing public, I think an apology is in order.
Elizabeth Mumford, Chevy Chase
The caption to the photograph that accompanied the Dec. 11 news article “Sending soldiers to war, Russia ignores trauma they bring home” referenced Russia’s “military operation” in Ukraine. Just curious whether the caption was submitted by a spokesperson for the Kremlin. In the article, the “war in Ukraine” is appropriately referenced.
Stephen Sherman, Bethesda
After birth, a scientist is given a name, typically consisting of two or three words. This name is used to distinguish one scientist from other scientists, which is especially helpful at times when a specific scientist has a discovery such that people know who is to be congratulated for said discovery.
The Post, in the Dec. 14 front-page article “U.S. hits key milestone in race to fusion energy,” failed to distinguish one scientist from another by generally crediting “scientists” for the achievement.
The article said that “still, it was the first time anyone had managed to create net energy gain” but failed to mention who that “anyone” actually is. There was barely any mention in the article of anyone by name who worked on the project. This lack of specific recognition seems wholly limited to scientists, as if to the outside world scientists resemble a pack of zebras.
Would one report on the moon landing without naming astronauts, elections without naming politicians, or hockey games without naming players? The scientists who have been working on laser fusion for decades, like those who detected gravity waves and those who took a picture of a black hole, are the Buzz Aldrins, Raphael G. Warnocks and Alex Ovechkins of their fields and deserve proper recognition for these achievements.
James Caron, Silver Spring
The Dec. 10 Sports article “Caps climb above .500 with third win in row” propagated a common misconception about how teams’ records are presented in the National Hockey League. The Capitals’ record of 13-12-2 represents 13 wins and 14 losses. The losses are broken out into two separate totals because the NHL awards a “standings point” to losses that occur in overtime and in a shootout.
At that point in the season, the Capitals had lost more games than they had won, and therefore were below .500.
Regarding the Dec. 11 Metro article “Free buses save riders money but mixed reliability can temper benefits”:
There is no such thing as a free bus ride. The correct term would be “taxpayer-supported” — just like free college, which is also “taxpayer-supported.”
A reversal after a reversal was in order
After the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance ruled against D.C. Council member Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) in a case stemming from her expenditures on a poll conducted in the Ward 3 primary, the Nov. 1 editorial “Unacceptable” amplified that decision and used it as further ammunition in an effort to unseat her in the Nov. 8 election. “These findings reaffirm our belief that Ms. Silverman is not a good choice for D.C. residents,” the editorial said.
Now, after Silverman lost the election, the D.C. Board of Elections has reversed the OCF decision [“Silverman’s polling did not break campaign finance law, board rules,” Metro, Dec. 13]. But there has been no editorial taking note of the election board’s ruling.
If the initial decision in the case warranted an editorial, surely the recent one also did. By failing to acknowledge this reversal, the editorial board of the region’s newspaper of record is damaging its credibility on local issues.
Daniel Horner, Washington
Any reporter assigned to write the obituary for a polymath literary luminary such as Hans Magnus Enzensberger would be challenged to capture the variety of work he did over 70 years at the center of German literary culture [“A leading author and intellectual of postwar Germany,” obituaries, Dec. 13]. In addition to all he wrote, Enzensberger was a great champion of writers who likely would have disappeared without his attention, such as the Jewish German poet and dramatist Nelly Sachs, who was one of the first he carried on his shoulders to Suhrkamp Verlag, the publishing house where he assumed a central role as editor in 1960, thereby introducing Sachs to a wider German audience.
Without his conviction of her importance, Sachs never would have come to such prominence, winning the Nobel Prize in literature (with S.Y. Agnon) in 1966. Enzensberger’s legacy includes such insight and acts of grace and should not be forgotten.
Joshua Weiner, Washington
The writer is the translator of Nelly Sachs’s “Flight and Metamorphosis.”
There was no need for a religious framing
I am a lover of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” and Benjamin Dreyer’s always thoughtful and beautifully written commentaries on writing and literature. So I was glad that The Post published Dreyer’s Dec. 13 Tuesday Opinion commentary, “The joy of reading Dickens proves that God blessed us, every one.”
But the headline gratuitously imputed a religious interpretation to Dreyer’s piece, which said nothing about God, except to quote the last line as just that — the last line. Dreyer wrote that Dickens’s choices of words and ear are what make us come back to “A Christmas Carol” and his other works. I’m a writer, critic and atheist, and the joy one gets from reading Dickens proves he was a great writer, in command of his craft. It has nothing to do with gods of any persuasion, as far as I’m concerned.
Religious people are free to interpret their experience anyway they like. But when I read The Post, I don’t want to be evangelized.
Julia Lichtblau, New York
Wallowing over the missed ‘Wind in the Willows’
The Dec. 14 Wednesday Opinion column “To build a delightful library for kids, start with these books” surprisingly left out Kenneth Grahame’s “The Wind in the Willows,” and Mole, Ratty, Badger, Mr. Toad “simply messing about in boats” and all their simple, outlandish and daring adventures. Also, the comfort of returning home to “this place which was all his own, these things which were so glad to see him again and could always be counted upon for the same simple welcome.”
As a sort of recommendation, in “A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré,” the editor, Tim Cornwell, a son of the master novelist of the shadowy world of secret agents, writes that at his home, le Carré was not encouraged to read. At age 7, however, while recovering from illness, he was read “The Wind in the Willows,” not once, but, at his request, two or three times. “After that,” he reported, “I read the book myself and everything seemed to fan out from there.” That led to writing “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold,” and “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” “moles,” and all.
Maybe “The Wind in the Willows” should be included in a child’s library both for delight and to see what it might inspire now.
Stringing along readers on concert coverage
That the Emerson String Quartet is disbanding is hardly news [“Emerson String Quartet launches its farewell tour at the Barns at Wolf Trap,” Style, Dec. 12]. It has played and been reviewed in D.C. on multiple occasions — with distinction but also, as Michael Andor Brodeur pointed out, with flaws. What, then, is the value-add in a review of the group’s concert at the Barns at Wolf Trap, playing Beethoven quartets that most classical music lovers have heard umpteen times on the radio or in person?
Wouldn’t it have better served readers — and the cause of contemporary classical music — to have published a review of the spectacular Junction Trio, which performed at the Phillips Collection on Dec. 11? Three young, supremely talented musicians — Conrad Tao, Stefan Jackiw and Jay Campbell — played a thoughtful program of great music by Tao, Charles Ives and Maurice Ravel that was fresh and exciting music to my ears and, I suspect, to many in the sold-out audience.
Sadly, it seems The Post is limiting the number of music reviews it prints, but I hope the editors and Brodeur will make more interesting choices for coverage in the future.
‘I can’t stands no more’ Popeye
The addition of “Popeye” in the Sunday comics is a poor choice. The strip is not humorous, especially when compared with the “Popeye” strips of the past. The content is dark and very inappropriate. The strip pales in comparison with the other comics. In the Dec. 11 strip, a snowman with pointed teeth was chasing children, threatening to enslave mankind. I do not see the humor, which would be tough to explain to my grandchildren. I hope The Post can and will do better.
We need puzzles for everyone
My spouse and I are decades-long subscribers to The Post. Only recently have we started doing the puzzles in the Style section. We continued this new tradition in our week in London last month with the Times. I noticed that the Times provided three levels of Sudoku puzzles. Given the need to focus on what is in front of us after being overwhelmed by all the news of the world, we find it helpful to do some puzzles. The problem is that many of us who might just be getting into this good habit can manage only the easy-to-moderate Sudoku puzzles.
I wish The Post would consider providing three levels of puzzles. Perhaps on Sundays to nudge people toward reading the Sunday paper as a family and then puzzling together.
Sabrina S. Fu, Ellicott City
Ingenuity is part of the puzzle with crosswords
It’s getting tiresome to see letters complaining about the Sunday Post crossword [“This one stumped us,” Free for All, Dec. 17]. As a paid subscriber to eight crossword outlets and a regular competitor in several East Coast tournaments, I can tell you that Evan Birnholz is revered as one of the top constructors in the business. I marvel weekly at the ingenuity of his puzzles, as do many others within the crossword community.
Yes, crosswords have changed over the years. Meta themes and rebuses are common. References to today’s pop culture and modern-day sports stars and actors are what should appear in today’s puzzles. People who complain about not knowing the names of rap stars or WNBA players are basically saying, “I want only my era or interests to be reflected in the puzzle.” I’m in my late 50s, and I’ve discovered good music, TV shows and food dishes by seeing them referenced in a crossword. (Pro tip: Unless you’re competing in a tournament, it’s okay to Google when you’re stuck, and learn something new in the process!)
Personally, I’m happy to be past the era of seeing Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe and Della Street in every other puzzle. Oreo references are probably here to stay, but that’s a cultural phenomenon that transcends generations.
Props to Birnholz. Solving the Sunday Post puzzle is always a highlight of my week.
