Letters to the Editor | March 3, 2024

It’s fitting that Verizon Hall is being renamed for Philly native Marian Anderson. The next step would be for the neighborhood surrounding the Marian Anderson Recreation Center to be renamed in her honor, as well. The current unofficial name, Graduate Hospital, is an embarrassment. The hospital closed years ago, and it wasn’t even in that neighborhood (it was mostly north of South Street, in what’s now called Rittenhouse). Also, why would anyone want to say they live in a hospital? Much better to call the neighborhood Anderson Village — a name to be proud of.

David Harbater, Philadelphia

The Inquirer Editorial Board recently wrote, “Welcome to the American theocracy. Never mind that the U.S. Constitution does not mention God or Christianity.” That’s true, the Constitution does not mention God. But in the Declaration of Independence, our nation’s founding document, the God of Christianity is mentioned five times, including references to the “laws of nature and of nature’s God,” the “supreme judge of the world,” the “creator” and “divine providence.”

God or the divine is also mentioned in every state constitution. The Pennsylvania Constitution begins with: “We, the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance, do ordain and establish this Constitution.” Donald Trump and those who support him do not seek a theocracy. They do, however, believe Jesus Christ and his followers are the greatest force for equality, justice, and freedom the world has ever known. They welcome that world.

James Hanak, Westtown, jamesmhanak@gmail.com

A recent editorial uses the term Christian nationalism as a movement we should fear in the coming presidential election. Mostly, the Editorial Board brings this up in terms of the First Amendment and its crucial place in providing a wall between church and state. The editorial predicts, frighteningly, how Donald Trump and the GOP will use their power to force those citizens who are not religious — or Christian — to live by what these Christian nationalists insist is God’s plan for all of us.

However, I believe the editorial omitted a crucial reality. If we are to grasp the full danger of the battle we face in the upcoming election, the word white needs to be added before Christian nationalism. Trump leads a white Christian nationalism movement. Words like borders and “poisoning our blood” and globalism (as defined by Trump) are his dog whistles to split our citizens along age-old white supremacy fault lines for his own power and glory. As the editorial concludes: God help us all. And, I would add: Jesus Christ was brown and welcomes all races into His kingdom.

Mary McKenna, Philadelphia

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s proposal to eliminate the college degree requirement for some city jobs would be a step in the right direction. The cost of college education is crushing, and the only way to combat the negative financial impact is to drop it as a hiring requirement. However, Parker’s proposal to do away with the written civil service exam would be a mistake. Many city jobs are highly technical. What would be the basis for assessing a candidate’s ability to discharge a job’s responsibilities, his or her personality? The notion that competitive examinations don’t measure anything is being reassessed nationwide. Dartmouth, MIT, and Georgetown are returning to the SATs. To best serve the public, the city needs a qualified workforce. If the college degree is eliminated as a hiring requirement, the need for rigorous, written civil service exams will be even greater than in the past.

Mike Egan, Plymouth Meeting

By the latest available count in Pennsylvania, more than 178,000 parents, caregivers, infants, and children depend on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) for nutrition assistance. As we stare down another government shutdown, thousands of our most vulnerable are at risk of losing critical access to food if Congress fails to fully fund WIC for the first time in 25 years. In Pennsylvania alone, participation in WIC increased by more than 14,000 participants from October 2022 to October 2023. The increase in need can be traced to the expiration of supplemental assistance programs that were launched during the pandemic, in addition to historic inflation at grocery stores.

The first 1,000 days of a child’s life have a tremendous impact on their long-term development and growth. Government spending on the program and participation in WIC has been associated with better health outcomes and lower health-care costs for children. WIC helps our most vulnerable when they are at their most vulnerable. Hunger is solvable. Investing in programs like WIC and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that are proven successful in fighting food insecurity is the first important step. Congress must continue its commitment to fully funding WIC.

Cat Bartoli, deputy chief program officer, Share Food Program, and Denise Ford, program manager, National School Lunch Program, Share Food Program

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