Crisis Control
WILLIAM KRISTOL is right, as ever, in his assertion that the administration needs to campaign aggressively for the United States’ viewpoint in Europe (“The Crisis in Europe,” March 29). Unfortunately, however, it seems that this Republican White House views policy communication as the ugly stepchild of policy making. What’s more, it seems to me that there is no top official in the National Security Council or the State Department who is tasked exclusively and authoritatively with communicating the United States’ policies and outlooks to the European community. Where is Colin Powell when we need him?
Eric Field
Denver, CO
WILLIAM KRISTOL’S characterization of the Madrid bombings as a “victory for terror” was painfully accurate. In his editorial, Kristol elaborates on the effects of the al Qaeda attack in Spain, as does Reuel Marc Gerecht in his “Holy War in Europe” (March 29). Without minimizing either commentary in the least, however, one recognizes that there is more to be concerned about than the situation in Europe.
Terror’s victory in Madrid was far-reaching. Radicals, of all kinds, will take heart as well. When a few bombs detonated by a handful of fanatics can swing a national election, it matters little whether that result was intended or not. The result takes on a life of its own, and repetition is assured. How long will it take before domestic terrorists, here and abroad, begin capitalizing on the lesson of Madrid? Or radical members of the antiglobalization movement? As Kristol and Gerecht both suggest, Madrid raised difficult questions with terrifying answers.
Wayne Skaggs
Wimberly, TX
Odd Jobs
IT’S NO SURPRISE that Cesar Conda, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former assistant for domestic policy, supports the outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries (“Traders Are Not Traitors,” March 29). Another non-surprise: The opinion piece bashes the Democrats for bashing outsourcing. Yet what is forgotten in the political debate over outsourcing is the working person who lost a job.
For it is not just “certain low-wage, low-prestige jobs” (Conda and Stuart Anderson’s words) that are being lost. People with multiple degrees are being laid off, as well as recent college graduates who cannot find work.
A broad range of blue collar, white collar, high tech, and high education careers are already gone, perhaps never to return. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and Greens are all impacted. More than any other sentiment, these folks feel betrayed by their employers and their government.
The argument that we should just be patient with the “jobless recovery” rings hollow. Offshoring is the worldwide search for the lowest wage. Indeed, there are a lot of new jobs being created. Just not here.
Richard Myers
Thornton, CO
Christians Rock
MATT LABASH’S review of Goodbye, Babylon is both insightful and appreciated (“That Old Time Religion,” March 29). Unfortunately, his backhanded critique of today’s Christian music scene is typical of those who first encountered Christian popular music during its difficult birth.
While early Christian musicians struggled to balance the demands of spiritual integrity and artistic excellence, today’s accomplished artists–groups such as Third Day, Jars of Clay, Ten Shekel Shirt, and dc Talk–stand toe-to-toe with their secular counterparts. All these groups display accomplished musicianship, artistic creativity, and theological integrity. These artists, and many others, answer Larry Norman’s question: “Why should the devil have all the good music?” The answer is simple: The devil doesn’t even come close.
Jason DiPinto
Augusta, KY
Teen Idol
A DOFFING OF FEDORAS to Joseph Epstein for his “Perpetual Adolescent”–despite, as Epstein notes, a general decline in the number of fedoras to doff (March 15). Epstein’s sobering discussion of the prolonging of the adolescent mentality, and the consequent resistance to growing up, is an unsettling wake-up call. At no time in our history has there been a more urgent need to promote responsibility in our domestic culture so as to maintain our role in the world at large.
Epstein’s comments about the place of youth and maturity reminded me of a long-ago interview with Lyndon Johnson. Regarding public service, Johnson said he hired young people to generate ideas and old people to tell him if the ideas were any good.
Norman Demb
Evanston, IL
