To the Editor:
Re “The Isolationism Antidote,” by Nicholas Kristof (column, Feb. 11):
I was surprised that in his column addressing the need for Americans to spend time abroad Mr. Kristof failed to mention the fact that the Peace Corps has been doing exactly that since 1961.
In 2011, the Peace Corps celebrated its 50th anniversary, and for the occasion three other editors and I created four books of Peace Corps stories, now housed in the Library of Congress. This collection of more than 200 stories from the Americas, Africa, Eurasia and Asia/Pacific covers the range of joys, frustrations, surprises and sorrows that Peace Corps volunteers experience in the two years of service.
I heartily agree with Mr. Kristof and would add that the Peace Corps has made a good start doing what he suggests. Let’s do more.
Jane Albritton
Santa Fe, N.M.
The writer served in the Peace Corps in India from 1967 to 1969.
To the Editor:
I support Nicholas Kristof’s intentions, but his urgent plea to young people to study or work abroad operates out of a fantasy of college and young adult life that was vaguely true decades ago but hardly is now.
Large numbers of college students work extensively to pay to be there. Some reports show average student loan debt well above $30,000, with many students carrying in excess of $50,000. Study abroad is a luxury most can’t afford, and even travel abroad of any sort after college seems luxurious as well.
Mr. Kristof acknowledges this, and his alternative of having cross-cultural experiences closer to home is salutary, though the financial pressures are only slightly mitigated by the domestic location.
Additionally, for large numbers of college students — especially first-generation students — college is their cross-cultural experience as they learn to navigate the higher educational system. Colleges are one of the few places in the United States where people of truly different backgrounds are actually required to come together and interact.
I am all in favor of what Mr. Kristof is proposing. However, the first question before us is why the United States makes the privilege of education so difficult to afford.
Peter Kerry Powers
Camp Hill, Pa.
The writer served as dean of the School of Arts, Culture and Society at Messiah University for 15 years.
To the Editor:
Nicholas Kristof is so completely right about the benefits of learning another language and travel. Some brilliant school board member or principal of my public school system in the Philadelphia suburbs decided that we should start learning French in fourth grade. This was 1958, and the class was taught on a tiny black-and-white TV in the auditorium by a Frenchwoman. I loved it. Many of us continued with French in junior high and high school and were fluent by graduation.
Later, my Wesleyan University nursing school curriculum required a course on intercultural nursing, so I spent five weeks in mission hospitals in Haiti in 1977. Then, in 1980, I was a teaching assistant/masters student when I accompanied 10 undergraduate nursing students to Scotland for an academic quarter and took my three young children too. These experiences profoundly changed and enriched our lives.
In 1984, I joined the Army and spent half of my career overseas in Germany and Panama. After retirement, I made sure to travel with my grandchildren. We’ve had amazing adventures and more to come. Thanks for reminding us why travel is so important.
By the way, I still live in Europe, and the Germans say I speak German with a French accent … a great compliment!
Lois Borsay
Labach, Germany
To the Editor:
At a time when so much of our world appears bleak to so many, Nicholas Kristof offers a powerful dose of inspiration and encouragement, especially for young people: Explore the world, whether it’s America or another country, preferably off the beaten path.
Fifteen years ago, a chance meeting sparked an idea that led to the formation of a nonprofit called the Global Neighborhood Project in San Diego. Today, it enjoys partnerships in several countries, including Azerbaijan, Botswana, Latvia, Mongolia, Morocco, Uruguay and Uzbekistan, focusing on photography, storytelling and chess to bring people together.
The world is waiting. Step out of your comfort zone.
Martin Kruming
San Diego
The writer is chair of the Global Neighborhood Project.
This Isn’t ‘Jeopardy!’
To the Editor:
Re “Biden’s Age Is a Campaign Problem, Not a Governing One,” by Michelle Goldberg (column, nytimes.com, Feb. 12):
President Biden would be an awful contestant on “Jeopardy!” Instant recall and exact phrasing are not his strengths. But presidents do not play Foreign Policy for $200. They play it for real.
That requires deliberation, not flash card memory. A president takes advice from a team of experts, cabinet level on down, and tempers it with his wisdom and experience into steely policy.
Mr. Biden has chosen advisers based on ability and experience; Donald Trump favors loyalty. Mr. Biden had a background as a senator and a vice president before winning the presidency. Mr. Trump was a game show host and ran a family real estate business.
We somehow survived Mr. Trump’s chaotic first term. Do the American people really want to place the country in Double Jeopardy?
Larry Stein
Glendale, Calif.
The War on Climate Science
To the Editor:
Re “A Slap Shot Against Climate Denial,” by Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Fontaine (Opinion guest essay, Feb. 16):
I applaud the victory of Dr. Mann, a climatologist, in his defamation suit against two of many vicious deniers of the facts of climate science. Tragically, the war on climate science and scientists is a feature in modern political discourse, an existential battle between the health of the planet and the rich fossil-fuel industry, which has captured the Republican Party.
Modern Republican candidates live in terror of speaking the truth about climate lest they be primaried by a well-funded opponent, the fate of Representative Bob Inglis of South Carolina in 2010.
Our nation has lost nearly 40 years of concerted action since the 1985 testimony by the scientist Carl Sagan laid out the dire consequences of carbon pollution before a Senate subcommittee headed by a Republican senator from Minnesota, David Durenberger.
Ask a Republican official today for the party’s plan to deal with the climate crisis, and the response is silence.
James P. Lenfestey
Minneapolis
The writer is a former editorial writer for The Star Tribune.
Marriage Tips
To the Editor:
Re “The Key to a Happy, Stable Marriage,” by Rhaina Cohen (Opinion guest essay, nytimes.com, Feb. 14):
I have been married for 64 years, so I feel entitled to give good advice. When tempers flare, pause until the storm goes away. When minor skirmishes appear, remind your partner that there are more important things in the world than leaving the toilet seat up or other minor offenses.
If the disagreement is deep and meaningful, retreat into a major silence, and when the time is ripe start a gentle conversation. Allow moments of solitude, enthrone independence, allow space. Learn to apologize, laugh together, cry together. Cherish your commitment to a life of renewal.
David S. Cantor
Los Angeles