Pillar of U.S. strength
There are many troubling things happening in our government now such as on-again, off-again tariffs causing economic turmoil; indiscriminate firings of federal employees; destruction of our reputation as a benevolent benefactor of the world’s sick and needy due to the dismantling of agencies and programs like USAID and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; and inexplicably turning away from our traditional western allies.
Perhaps the most puzzling are the attacks on institutions of higher learning. President Donald Trump is waging a hostile war against universities, especially Harvard University. Our universities have long attracted the best and brightest from around the globe. Research done at U.S. universities has led to breakthroughs in science and medicine that have greatly benefited the economy and our health. Leaving aside disingenuous claims of antisemitism, seeking to weaken and even destroy these universities makes no sense.
The Nature Index database puts out a Top 10 list that tracks contributions from universities to high-quality publications on natural and health sciences. Harvard currently holds the No. 1 spot; however, most of the others in the Top 10 are Chinese. The istration has stated it wants to counter China’s rise in power. Why then try to destroy a pillar of U.S. strength?
Donna Gregory, Dallas
Career built on soft skills
Re: “Will job prep gut the humanities?,“ May 25 news story.
Years ago I was told that education is what you do to make the inside of your head an interesting place to be for the next 60 years. What this really implies is your education is a consumer good first and job training second.
I was a chemistry and physics major at a small liberal arts university. I went on to get a PhD, but my nearly 40-year career in industry was built on the interface between science and what some call the soft skills which, interpreted broadly, means the humanities.
My liberal arts education — literature, philosophy, history, language, speaking and writing — provided the human context for my science, and it still does 50-some-odd years later.
There is a value to simply being educated. Vocational training has an important place, and it may come as a result of a university degree. But first and foremost, education should enrich you and teach you how to think.
William Carroll, Far North Dallas
Early childhood education
I appreciate any increase in funding for public education provided by the Texas Legislature, but I wish it had followed the science. Science tells us that 90% of emotional development occurs between birth and age 5.
I would call your attention to the Perry Preschool Project, a program started in the mid 1960s in Ypsilanti, Mich., in which a group of children were provided quality early childhood education. They followed these kids for 50 years, and the resulting increases in educational, financial and life achievement for them and for their children are remarkable.
I believe if we would invest in such quality early childhood education for all of our kids, in 20 years we could start to close most of our prisons.
Mike Rosen, Dallas
Act on your disappointment, Musk
Re: “Musk takes parting shot at Trump’s bill,” Thursday news story.
Elon Musk should put his money where his mouth is. Musk recently stated his disappointment with the huge increase in the national debt proposed by Republicans.
If he is truly concerned about the serious harm this will do to our economy, then he could become an advocate for getting rid of the proposed unwise and destructive tax cut to billionaires like him.
This would do infinitely more good for our country than the insignificant and unwise budget cuts resulting from his DOGE attack on government programs and services needed by Americans. The proposed tax cut reflects a greedy, unaffordable and unpatriotic demand from those billionaires who have so much more than everyone else and yet never enough! They have benefited so much from our country and should be honored to pay their fair share of taxes.
Linda Pelon, Dallas
That comforting voice
Re: “Public media outlets matter to the world — Defunding independent voices is the wrong move in an age of disinformation,“ by William McKenzie, Sunday Opinion.
“No longer will Radio Moscow be just a vague, disemboweled voice.” After I finished giggling, I gave thanks for an alternative, Voice of America. Radio Moscow was bragging about its new English service. I was in my second overseas job and had been devoted to Voice of America for years. As a teacher in American oil company schools in both Libya and Dubai, I had been comforted and informed by VOA and loved it dearly. In Libya, it was VOA that alerted us in our little oil company town on the coast to the fact that there had been a coup when Moammar Gadhafi took over the kingdom from King Idris. When my mother called the Libyan Embassy in Washington, it turned out that the coup was news to them and that they were glued to VOA.
In Dubai, there was no coup, but the Middle East was always on fire in one spot or another. The cool, comforting tone of VOA was vital.
VOA has always been a boon to Americans working abroad, but it was a much loved and vital source of information for the many nationalities working in these places far from home. In Dubai especially, there are workers of many levels from many countries. Helping those struggling to learn English is one of the reasons VOA is so popular. Besides, the VOA foreign service is very popular for getting news from home.
To hear suggestions that funding could be cut is distressing and seemingly shortsighted. One can only hope that a rational and farsighted view will prevail and that this very important part of the American outlook and way of life will endure. It is needed.
MaryJo Long Coulter, Richardson