Letters to the Editor | Jan. 9, 2025

As we observe an official day of mourning for President Jimmy Carter, various speakers will recount his humble beginnings, his political career, and his humanitarianism. For me, a story that occurred during his senior year at the U.S. Naval Academy best illustrates his excellent character. From 1872 through 1937, none of the five Black plebes had lasted longer than a year at the Naval Academy. In 1945, when Carter was a senior, he went out of his way to offer a warm handshake of friendship to African American Wesley A. Brown, who was being shunned by almost all his fellow midshipmen. Brown persevered and became Annapolis’ first Black graduate in 1949. Carter befriended Brown because it was the right thing to do. That gesture of friendship is all anyone needs to know about Carter’s character.

Paul L. Newman, Merion Station

The reverence and decorum associated with the funeral procession for President Jimmy Carter are so very reassuring as an American, especially in the wake of the anniversary of the horrors of Jan. 6, 2021, a day that will always be remembered as an assault on our democracy. The remembrance of a man who was committed to his family and the best interests of average Americans, his accomplishments as president, his rejection of racism, and his worldwide contributions after leaving office is a tonic to the negativity of today. Carter is an example of the best this country can elevate in terms of its citizenry to the office of the presidency. Let’s hope some of Carter’s dignity and love of these United States can be absorbed by members of Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, the president-elect, and fellow Americans.

Mary Kay Owen, Downingtown

Even before taking office, Donald Trump is positioning to control all social media platforms. Mark Zuckerberg, after flying to Mar-a-Lago, was strong-armed into eliminating a third-party fact-checking program from Facebook and Instagram after GOP leaders cried censorship of their conservative propaganda. He’s also added Dana White, a Trump ally, to his company’s board of directors. Did Trump tell Zuckerberg he was going to make good on his threat of sending him to prison? Seriously, what was discussed at their meeting?

Thankfully, I don’t get all of my news from social media. But how many millions of other people do? I don’t want cherry-picked, Trump-favoring misinformation pedaled off as news. Have you ever watched Newsmax or jumped on Truth Social? Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon has blocked the release of Jack Smith’s taxpayer-funded report of his investigation into Trump’s role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s mishandling of government records and classified documents. Trump is masterful in running interference. Absolutely nauseating.

K. Mayes, Philadelphia

SEPTA has been bragging about its new (read: more expensive) parking system. Over the last three months, I tried using the new parking kiosk at SEPTA’s Philmont Station eight times. I followed all the instructions and got to the last step to put my quarters in, and it would not take them seven out of the eight times. Calling SEPTA simply results in the same old reply: We’ll look into it. Not only is SEPTA’s new parking system (with fees twice as high as before) not working already, but nobody cares about fixing it.

Leo Iwaskiw, Philadelphia

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